Allotment Update

It's been a few weeks since I did an allotment post and things have been doing a lot of growing in that time.  By the time of the inspection, which was yesterday the plot was completely full with produce.  Some of it needed harvesting, but we didn't want to leave any big gaps, so we held off until after the inspection, as I think 75% of your plot has to be cultivated.

Here are a couple of pictures of each side of the plot:

On this side we have beans, cucumbers, courgettes, one aubergine plant, lettuce, strawberries (our plants were new in this year and hardly produced any fruit unfortunately), peas, sweetcorn and raspberries. We've been harvesting a lot of peas, raspberries and lettuce lately.

On this side of the plot are potatoes, beetroot, tomatoes of various varieties, beans, asparagus, dahlias, gooseberries, blackcurrants and blueberries. The potatoes in the forefront are ready to harvest and I'm sure OH will be excited to do this when he gets back from visiting his parents.

The fruit bushes aren't really producing much fruit this year.  They were very productive last year, but got quite heavily pruned in the autumn, so maybe we'll get more next year. The blueberries are sunk into the ground in their pots, as they like an ericaceous soil and our soil at the plot is a clay soil, which they wouldn't like.

We're really strict about what we grow these days. We only grow crops we actually like to eat. I've grown things in the past that we ended up giving away or were left for the bees, but now we're on a small plot we need to be disciplined and use the space to it's best advantage. Some things we don't grow as they don't grow well on the plot and are cheap to buy, such as carrots and onions. 

Once more space becomes available, OH has more seedlings ready to go, such as celeriac, kohl rabi and more lettuce, so we should be able to keep the plot topped up for the full growing season.

I don't think we'll be winning any prizes this year for the plot, as we (well, OH really) won Best Plot last year, but we still have to be on top of maintaining our plot and keeping the paths tidy. 

Here are some pictures of a couple of the other plots on the site that may be contenders for the big prize this year.  They both have completely different styles of gardening to us, but their plots look very good and I especially like to see flowers growing amongst the crops. I would love to grow more flowers.

That's the beauty of allotments, every one is different and has a charm of it's own. Diversity is a wonderful thing.

Back to Normality

After a super busy week last week, this week was all about getting back to some sort of normality. It was lovely to get up on Monday morning and not have to do any cleaning. I did need to take the dog out for a walk and do the weekly shop, but that was all there was on my list for the day, save for getting back into my weight loss journey and counting my calorie consumption. It was good to be able to get back to keeping an eye on what I eat. I'd put on a pound or two over the weekend, which wasn't too bad. I'm sure it will drop off again soon.

Whilst we were away, a neighbour unfortunately died. I saw a message on the street Whatsapp chat on Sunday morning, posted by his wife. He's had health problems for a while, but it was unexpected and must have been a horrible shock for the family.

We came back home to a couple of disappointments of our own, small things in comparison. One was some damage in the garden. The hammock post got broken off to a stump, and a fence also collapsed due to being sat on. OH was able to subsequently mend the fence, but the hammock post is irrepairable, which is a pity.

The other disappointment was that a neighbour had done something to the lovely honeysuckle outside of the kitchen window over the weekend and it now looks like it is dying. The trunk and roots are in their garden, so I don't actually know what they've done, but it now looks like this:

It's a very sad sight. It's such a pity. It was a lovely healthy and beautiful bush. It has upset me a little. We later found out that it was done by accident. 

Anyway, I walked the dog and then headed out to do the weekly shop. I spent quite a lot, as we needed quite a few things and I needed to buy extra now LB is back home for the summer, as she eats a few different things to what OH and I eat.

Tuesday, I had booked to go to a class at the gym, so OH walked the dog for me. I decided to look and see if there were any summer jobs advertised online for LB and whilst doing so found a temporary job that appealed to me, so I started to complete the application.

Due to the distraction, I then had to rush out to my class and was a bit late.  Luckily, I was still allowed in and the class was good. I'd forgotten how tough it was, as I hadn't been to this particular class since before I started my last job. It involved using weights which I quite enjoy and I came out feeling like I'd had a good workout.

When I got home, I finished applying for the job. Fingers crossed I hear something from it.

LB informed me that she'd managed to get some shifts at her previous job at a local theatre. Her shifts start next week, which is good. They don't tend to have much going on over the summer though, so she will still probably need to look for something else.

On Wednesday, OH was out cycling for most of the day, so I needed to walk the dog and then get back to go to my Soca Aerobics class. I walked there to get more steps in and kept my phone on me during the class to keep track of my steps. The class was good and then afterwards I headed into town to go to the building society, as I wanted to update my pass book. Some share dividends had been paid in a few weeks ago and it was slightly more than I'd expected, which is always a nice surprise.

I then popped into our local Primark and took a look around, but there was nothing I liked in my size, so I didn't spend any money and walked home.  I was so glad to get home and have some lunch, as I was shattered. I'd done nearly 15,000 steps in total. Quite enough for one morning. 

I'm feeling a little under the weather at the moment, I think I have a summer cold. It's not a bad one, but it is a bit chesty and is making me feel a little tired and not as energetic. I've tested for Covid three times and all tests were negative, so hopefully it isn't that.

The afternoon was quiet. I just hung out some laundry and then took a nap. I harvested some blackcurrants from the garden later, ready to make some jam. I need to defrost some blackberries from the freezer to combine with them.

In the evening, I went to the allotment with OH to harvest some peas, lettuce and berries, mainly raspberries. We've got a big glut of lettuce at the moment and just can't eat it fast enough and this is despite sowing it at different times. The heat is just making it bolt like crazy. I'll just have to eat more of it.

Thursday, marked the completion of two weeks on my weight loss journey. I lost 4lbs in the first week, but then put a pound on over the wedding weekend, so by the end of the second week, I had lost 5lbs or 2.2kg in total, which is fine. I'm not trying to lose weight quickly. The slower the better, as then it might stay off.  That felt like a positive start to the day.

I was really tired when I got up, as I virtually didn't sleep at all the night before. As a consequence, I almost didn't go to the Pilates/Yoga fusion class, but made I myself cycle there, as I knew I'd feel better if I did.  It was a hard class, but enjoyable. The free over 50's classes finish for the summer in 4 weeks, so I need to make the most of them over the next few weeks. Once they finish, I'll  have to pay £2.20 for over 50's gym sessions or classes until the free classes restart in September, which isn't too bad, but there's less variety.

When I got home, I made myself a big salad for lunch. I then decided to head up to the sewing room in the afternoon to nap and try to catch up with sleep, as I was really tired. It wasn't wholly successful, but if nothing else, it kept me out of the kitchen and away from food, so I was less likely to graze. I'm determined to take it easy this week, until I'm feeling a bit better.

I took the dog out later, it had cooled down a bit thankfully, so I managed to get a few more steps in, not as many as the day before though.

On Friday, I woke up having recovered from the lack of sleep I experienced the previous morning, but I didn't have any plans to exercise, save for walking the dog.

After lunch, I retired to the sewing room and spent a relaxing afternoon working on a couple of different hand sewn quilts that I've started recently. It felt very therapeutic. 

It was, however, interrupted by a commotion going on in the garden, with lots of squealing and banging. The dog had caught a big rat and killed it, fortunately for me, as I would have hated to have to put it out of it's misery had it been injured and still alive. I guess she's doing what she's genetically programmed to do being a Cairn terrier, but it wasn't nice to witness.

In the evening, we watched Glasto on the TV. I would love to go, but I'm probably a bit old now.

Saturday morning, I decided to go to a free session at the gym again. It's not a particularly strenuous session, but it gets me exercising and costs me nothing. Having said that, I did work up a sweat and tried out lots of weight machines I don't normally use. There's a fun game on the wall too, where you have to slap the flashing lights to stop them and I had a few goes on that. It's good fun and gets you bending and stretching.

Instead of going home, I went straight to the allotment. It's inspection week next week and we needed to weed the paths and generally tidy up, as well as harvest lettuce, peas, berries again. There are potatoes and beetroot to harvest too, but we're waiting until after the inspection on Wednesday, so that we don't leave big gaps that aren't cultivated. It looked pretty tidy after a couple of hours work and we came home for some lunch.

In the afternoon and evening, I stayed inside where it was cool and watched Glastonbury on TV.

I've enjoyed this week, getting back into a normal routine. I'd almost forgotten what I normally do on a regular week and found myself wondering what to do with myself at times, but by the end of the week I had more or less settled back into it. There's lots of stuff I can get on with, it's just a question of putting my mind to it.

Hope you had a good week.

A Super Busy Week

Now that I'm not working, most weeks are lived at a gentle pace, but every once in a while a super busy week comes along and this was one of those. The reason for this, was that we were due to go to a wedding on the weekend, LB was leaving Uni halls and was coming home with a bunch of friends to stay in the house for the weekend whilst we were away. As a consequence, we not only had to go over to South London to collect most of LB's belongings, but I also had to tidy and clean the house ready for her friends coming, as well as pack an organise myself for the trip up North.

I started the cleaning on Monday, but not until I'd tried out the new to me Yoga class at the Glass House that I mentioned in a previous post. I cycled there and I had forgotten what a nice cycle ride it was. The only difficult part was up the hill to the venue, but I walked the bike for that part, as it was just too steep for me to ride.

The class itself was really good. I've not always been the greatest fan of Yoga in the past, but I'm giving it a try, as I think it might be better for me post menopause. It was a super busy class, that filled the whole building virtually. As soon as I laid down in that lovely space, I felt super relaxed. I could have just laid there for an hour and felt better, without the yoga. Anyway, the class wasn't too difficult for a newbie like me. There were a few bits I found difficult, but overall I just enjoyed how calm it made me feel. The teacher was lovely too.

When I got home, after having some lunch, I started on the cleaning.  I began in the living rooms. They didn't get cleaned the last time I got around to cleaning, so they were badly in need of a thorough clean. I put away the fire basket and the fire implements for the summer, washed some of the cushions and throws and moved the rooms around, as we tend to spend the summer using the front room and winter using the back room. I probably didn't start until 3pm, so it took until around 8pm to finish, barring a couple of small things that still needed to be done. I went to bed feeling satisfyingly tired.

On Tuesday, I had a good walk with the dog, and then after lunch I started on the cleaning again, working my way up the stairs and through all the upstairs rooms this time, dusting and vacuuming as I went.  This was all done a few weeks ago, so it wasn't in too bad shape. I did have to spend quite a bit of time working on the sewing room, as it was really cluttered and dusty and I needed to both thin it out a little and clean it. 

In the evening after supper, I spent some time in the kitchen, cleaning some of the bits that I don't enjoy, like cupboard fronts, on top of the fridge and extractor hood (as they get very greasy). I also put some citric acid in the dishwasher and cleaned it, putting the extractor filters in there too to clean.

Unfortunately, there was no time for exercise on Tuesday, but cleaning will have worked off a few calories.

On Wednesday, we had arranged to head over to South London to collect LB's belongings from her room in halls. She had the day off Uni, so it was the best day to go. Whilst waiting for OH to get back from the dogwalk, I used the time to clean the oven out and put the oven shelves in soak for when we got back. Another horrible dirty job partly tackled.

LB was staying on in her room until the weekend, when she had to leave and bring whatever was left home with her. We took a few boxes, bags and a large suitcase with us to help load everything into the car and I took some cleaning things to help clean up the room after everything was removed. It was quite a big job, as when we got there it was a real mess. Bit by bit we got on top of it. I packed up the laundry and separated into whites and darks, so it was easy to throw in the washing machine when I got home, as there was a lot of it. We packed up clean clothes, then boxed up the remainder of her stuff and then I cleaned as we cleared various areas.

It was a strange feeling emptying her room. It must have felt worse for her, as this has been her home for the past 9 months. It was empty save for enough things to fit into one holdall and a small carry on case, which she could bring home on the train. It felt satisfying, except that then we had to unload it all at the other end when we got home. I just did it bag by bag. I hung up and put away clean clothes, started on the washing and hung it out on the line. I found space to put as many of her things in her room, as neatly as possible. It was a lot of work.

I then finished cleaning the oven. I just needed to clean the wire rack shelves and the air fryer that we brought home with us. OH made us some soup when we got home and I was in bed by 10 pm. I was so tired at the end of the day, that I was over 300 calories below my allowance, but just didn't have the energy to eat anything more.  

On Thursday, I needed to focus on cleaning the kitchen. It was the biggest job in the house. I had already cleaned a few cupboards, the oven and the dishwasher, so it was mainly worktops, cupboard doors, window sills and the floor. It was still quite a lot of work to do, and in between I continued washing LB's clothes, drying them outside and then putting them away, so that it was all done and dusted by the time she got home.  I was tired and a bit grumpy by the time I had finished, as it had been such a busy week. I couldn't wait to just get to bed and sleep.

I woke up on Friday morning, knowing that we were on the final stretch. I began by showering and then packing ready to go away. There were also lots of small jobs to do, just tidying a few last minute things away and then I needed to head out to Lidl to do a food shop for LB and her friends for the BBQ they were going to have. Once done, a lunch was packed for the journey and we could load everything into the car and go.

The journey itself was fine, until we got to the Humber Bridge, which takes you from Lincolnshire into East Yorkshire over the river Humber.  Unfortunately, there had been a serious accident on the bridge a few hours before and it had been closed in both directions.  We went to a nearby village pub for supper at this point, in the hope that it would reopen, but it didn't so we had to take a longer route to get across the river and were unable to stop off and see OH's parents as we'd planned. Instead, we headed straight to our cottage near to the wedding venue. We were glad to eventually get there at 9pm and just chill after a much longer journey than we expected.

Saturday, was the day of the wedding. We were due at the reception for 2pm, so I had the whole morning to get ready, which was good. The wedding reception was lovely. It was in the grounds of the bride's parents' home in a large Teepee in the garden. 

A lot of work and thought had gone into organising it, with lovely welcoming drinks, canapes and then lovely food once we got seated in the Teepee. We were sat with some younger members of OH's family, whom we hadn't seen for a number of years, so it was lovely to catch up with their news over the meal. Some family members were sadly absent, which was a shame, as it would have been nice to see them. Others, such as OH's parents were unable to attend for health reasons.

Later, after all the speeches and cake cutting, we had a good dance and just generally had a lovely evening. I didn't eat or drink too much, but it was difficult to count calories, so I didn't even try. The wedding ended at Midnight and we headed back to our cottage in a nearby village. 

We were invited to return the following day, to a kind of wedding breakfast/bbq, but we decided to go to see OH's parents instead, as it was Father's Day,  and his health has been deteriorating recently. We stayed a few hours before returning to London later in the afternoon/evening.

It was a busy weekend, but an enjoyable one catching up with everyone and their news. It was a priviledge to share in the happy couple's special day and the wedding was a lovely ending to a very busy week.

A Sunday Cycle Ride

On Sunday morning, OH and I decided to cycle up to Hackney Bridge, a place we visited a week or so ago for lunch. It has a flea market on a Sunday, as well as lots of lovely places to eat. We left the dog at home, as it was so hot and off we went.

First stop was the flea market. It's only been going a few weeks and is quite small.  Maybe a dozen stalls, mostly selling jewellery or vintage clothing or other items. I bought myself a hematite thumb ring. It's a grounding and protective stone that dissolves negativity and imparts confidence.  Who wouldn't want to benefit from any or all of these properties.

We then stopped off at an old fashioned photo booth for me to take some passport photos. I've not sat in one of these for decades, but I was hopeful for the outcome. Unfortunately, it completely overexposed all of the pictures. They came out like this:

OH paid, so he will now need to try to get a refund, which is annoying. Not to be defeated, I went back into the booth and used the white backdrop to take a decent enough selfie to do the job. I now just need to make the application.

We then had another Mexican chicken bowl for lunch. I took a picture this time as it was so tasty. Probably not too many calories either.

From there we cycled off to a new vintage shop that we spotted a few weeks ago. There was a small bar outside, so OH sat outside having a drink, whilst I went in to take a look. It's on the canal near Hackney Wick, for anyone who knows the area.  They had a very well curated selection. There wasn't much in my size unfortunately, but I did come away with one item. It wasn't cheap, as vintage clothes aren't these days. I won't tell you how much. I bought it for it's very simple construction, and because I hope to replicate it using fabrics from my stash. I'll do a separate post about it when I've tried to do this.

From here we cycled on to the infamous Victoria Park, built by Queen Victoria for the benefit of the poor of the East End of London. It borders with Hackney, Bow and Bethnal Green and is a lovely big park, very popular in the summer and was very busy with people milling about on a hot summer's day. There were lots of food stalls around the pond area. Ideal to come and get something to eat and chill. We used to come to this park a lot when LB was little, as we lived closer then, but I haven't visited it properly for a long time. 

We cycled virtually right around the park and then came out onto Well Street Common, another local green space, albeit smaller. 

It just happened to be the day of the Annual Well Street Common Summer Fair. This was an event that we regularly used to come to when LB was small. Lots of local people running table top sales, food stalls, plant stalls, small makers market, that kind of thing. It's a lot bigger these days, with a main stage and the local Cycle club even had a circuit laid out for children to race around on bikes. OH went over, of course, as he knew the organiser, whilst I mooched around the stalls spending a few pounds on a couple of plants and having a go on the tombola.

I came away with a Boysenberry plant, which is supposed to be a cross between a blackberry and a raspberry. It's only a small plant, but I thought I'd give it a go for £5. I also bought this sempervivum, complete with babies for £4, as I don't actually own one of these. I may separate off the babies and grow them on.

We then finally cycled home. It wasn't the most frugal outing, but sometimes it's good to support local businesses who are trying to make a living. The things I did buy, I was happy with and am hoping will be very practical or beautiful.

By the time we got home it was 2pm and I'd done the equivalent of over 5000 steps, plus we'd had a lovely time too. Another little trip down memory lane, but lots of different memories. It's nice sometimes to visit old haunts. LB is coming home next weekend. I'm looking forward to having her home for the summer. I've missed her. She's feeling a little homesick too, so I think she'll be happy to be home for a while.

A Lovely Saturday Morning Walk

After being thwarted from doing a favourite dog walk on Friday, due to new parking restrictions, I was determined to go back on Saturday when the restrictions didn't apply.

When I got there, there were lots of parking spaces to chose from, so different from during the week and we headed off into the nearby park. 

The park itself is on a hill and I wanted to first check out something at the top of the hill, so we headed up there first. They've done some building work in this part of the park and have built a new building called the Glass House.

This was the place that I wanted to check out, as on Monday lunchtimes they do a free yoga class for over 50's and I'm thinking of going along. It looks really like a really nice space.

It is situated next to the park cafe.

It's a lovely cafe, we used to go there years ago when LB was small as we had an allotment close to this park. It has lots of outside tables, although it was very quiet at 9.30 am on Saturday morning when I walked past and I didn't have any money on me to stop and have a drink.

We then explored the pond area and admired the view from the top of the park.

We then left the park and walked over a little bridge over the canal. The local Marina can be seen from here. Lots of people live here permanently on their boats, with lots of others moored all along the canal here. It's a lovely spot.

We then headed into a wildlife area with lots of different shady paths to take, which was good as it was very hot.

Eventually, we came back over another little bridge near the rowing club. I'd love to take up rowing as a hobby.

Once over the bridge, we were nearly back at the car, so we stopped and sat in the shade for a while on the sports field. Our old allotment was way over in the far corner behind the rugby goal posts.

The dog was tired by this point, so I carried her back to the car on my shoulder. Bless her, she's getting on in years. She enjoyed the walk though. 

It was fun to take a trip down memory lane and do a completely different walk for once. A very enjoyable way to get 4.000 steps in too.

Getting Healthier - W/E 10th June 2023

I thought I'd start this week's blog with a picture of my orange blossom bush in the garden. It's a bit of a monster, but it is so glorious when it's in full bloom and also smells divine. Here's a picture of my view of it from the sewing room:

It's a beautiful sight to behold and part of the reason I enjoy spending time in there some afternoons. The bush desperately needs cutting back, but I can't bring myself to do it until it has finished flowering, as it may not flower as well in future years as a consequence.

This week got off to a slow start. I took the dog for a long walk on Sunday morning, as OH was off at a cycling event in Cambridge.

I got a nice surprise on Sunday morning. I'd had another small win on the Premium Bonds, only £25, but I haven't won anything for a few months, so it was very welcome.

I spent most of the rest of the afternoon sewing, catching up on YouTubers I follow and napping (as I woke at 5am when OH got up). I also placed a couple of online orders, one for eco household products, as we desperately needed dishwasher tablets and another order from Temu.

On Monday, I went out to do the weekly shop as usual. It was another big shop, as we'd run out of quite a few things. I got 10% off my Lidl shop which saved me £7.20, but I also had to visit a few other shops to get all the things we needed, which included Home Bargains, B&M and Tescos.  I managed to restrain myself in these stores and just get what we needed.

On Tuesday, I decided that it was time to get a proper haircut in view of an upcoming wedding we are going to. LB has been doing a great job of cutting my hair for the past few years, but I wanted a few layers putting in and a fringe cutting, and besides, she's at Uni, so she can't do it for me on this occasion. I went to the salon I always go to and a lovely lady did my cut. It's not too different, but having a fringe is a big change for me, as I've not had one for decades. I like it, but I may have to learn to trim it myself.

It felt good to actually do something for me and my appearance. I have a habit of neglecting it and sometimes, something like a new haircut can really make a difference in your mindset and confidence levels.

On Wednesday, I made a big decision for me. I've decided to start a weight loss journey. I desperately need to lose some weight, have done for a while, but just haven't got serious about it. After watching Louises.Journeyxo on YouTube, I felt ready and motivated to get started. She keeps it real. 

In accordance with her advice, I've started a journal, taken measurements, weighed myself, taken before photos, etc. and today I monitored my normal calorie intake, so that I can work out what a calorie deficit daily intake is for me, then I can get started. It's long overdue. I'm taking it slow and hoping to lose the weight over a year or more. No quick fixes here, as there aren't any.

One of the first things I did was install a pedometer on my phone again and I was off. The dog walk racked up 3.800 steps, followed by another 7000 cycling to and doing my usual Soca Aerobics class. Who'd have thought it. The first negative shock was the 5 humbugs I often eat on the dogwalk - totalled 167 calories - more than the walk itself. I might have to find an alternative.

I washed my hair for the first time since going to the hairdressers in the evening and it dried okay without a hairdryer, which was good as I don't like to blow dry my hair. 

On Thursday morning, I headed off to a Pilates/Yoga fusion class. It was a women only class and was free. It took me about half an hour to walk there and 5000 steps in total there and back. I didn't measure steps in the class as it wasn't appropriate. I enjoyed it but I do find Pilates hard work. I've got a very weak core. That's why I need it so much, I think I'll go again.

Thursday, was my first day on a calorie deficit eating plan. My calorie intake is going to be 1800 calories. I carefully weighed everything I ate and wrote it in my journal. Some things are easy, as I eat them day after day and don't need to weigh or measure. Lunch was salad as usual. There aren't many calories in it, maybe 200 or so. I supplement with fruit and in this instance a low calorie jelly. I had to eat a few snacks in the afternoon, as I'd consumed very few calories in the morning, but they were mainly fruit. It wasn't that difficult to stick to the 1800 calories, I was pleasantly surprised. It just takes a bit of thought and restraint.

In the afternoon, I ventured to the allotment to do a bit of weeding of the plot and the paths as we've got an inspection coming up at the end of the month. The plot looks fine, but it will help to remove weeds, as what we have growing won't have to compete with them. It was very sunny and I came back hot and sweaty.

I've applied for a couple of jobs in the last couple of days. Not sure I'll hear anything. One required me to fill in several assessments with lots of repetitive questions. I don't think I did that well in them. You seem to have to have a perfect allround personality to get a job with some companies these day. Being someone who works hard isn't always enough. It makes me glad that I'm at the latter end of my working years to be honest. As I expected, the job with the assessment rejected me later in the week. I just don't have the right personality for them! Maybe I should just lie and tell them what I think they want to hear. Better still, maybe I won't apply for jobs that require this type of assessment in future, they seem like just another way to discriminate against people.

On Friday, I got up and went out with the dog. I was hoping to take her to an old favourite haunt, but when we got there (in the car, as it's too far for her to walk now she's nearly 11 and arthritic), I was disappointed to see that there were new parking restrictions, so I couldn't park anywhere. We then had to come back and go to another spot nearer home where I could take her for a different walk. 

Anyway, when we got back, I had lunch and then headed out to the gym as I'd booked myself in for a session. I took the bike and kept my phone on me, so that I could monitor my steps. 

I've bought a great little wrist band for going to the gym from Temu, plus some elasticated laces for my trainers.  No more tieing my shoelaces, my trainers now just pull on. They were both very inexpensive. The wrist band fits my door key, bike lock key and ear buds and can be used as a sweat band too. It's perfect. 

As I don't have any pockets in my workout wear, I also have a small bumbag that I keep my phone in to measure my steps and I sling it across my chest or round my waist as I'm exercising. It works a treat. Little things like these do make going to the gym and tracking your work out a lot easier. It's always the small things that make a difference. Makes me sound like a dinosaur, as most people just have a fit bit or smart watch.

The gym session was good, but I didn't have a lot of energy today. I don't think I'd eaten enough protein before going, something to remember for future gym visits.

When I got back from the gym, I needed to take a couple of books back to the library as they were due back. I made sure to walk and get more vitamin D and steps in. One of the books I had started to read, but wasn't loving, so I decided not to bother reading it. Life is too short to read a book you're not enjoying. There's way too many other things I could be doing that I do enjoy.

It's been a very health orientated week this week, I feel ready to take more care of myself, especially now that I've got more time. I'm happy enough with how it's going so far. Let's just hope I can stick to it.

Another Short Week - W/E 3/6/23

Another short week this week, on account of the Bank Holiday. The schools are on half term too, so it's pretty quiet here in London, as a lot of people go out of town. It makes the roads much less congested, so I'm not complaining. Not that I really went anywhere in the car this week.

Tuesday got off to a late start. I did my little exercise routine in the morning and then took the dog out. I bumped into another dog walker and we had a good chat as we walked along which was nice.

By the time I got home it was time for lunch. I then sorted some laundry and hung out some more before retiring to the sewing room to read. I'm currently really enjoying Kate Humble's A Year of Living Simply. It's a really good read. She talks to people who are living interesting lifestyles or are involved in some really interesting projects in various parts of the country/world. I had a bit of a nap, whilst I was up there too, got to admit.

Later, I made us a chicken casserole for supper. I don't often make these, so it made a nice change. Whilst I was waiting for it to cook, I did some mending of some of my underwear. It's been sat in a basket for months and months, so it felt satisfying to get the items repaired and back into circulation. One less job to do.

I spent the evening making more patchwork pieces for LB's quilt, whilst catching up on YouTube videos.

On Wednesday, OH took the dog out to the allotment in the morning, so I got a lie in. I didn't feel like going to Soca Aerobics this week, so I arranged to meet him there, but I got distracted doing some sewing. 

I found a pair of cargo pants in the wardrobe that needed a few inches cutting off the length and re-hemming and whilst I had the sewing machine out, I decided to make another table runner that I'd already cut to size.  I also repaired some more underwear, as I'd gone through my drawer to look for anything that needed repairing. Everything is now up to scratch, until more start to develop holes. Holes are usually just between the fabric and the elastic at the top, so are easily mended.

When I'd finished and had breakfast, I went to the allotment, but OH had already moved on to walk the dog. I stayed and did a bit of weeding and took some pictures to post on here, then I met him back at home.

Once home, I decided to make some jam. We had 8 bags of brambles in the freezer left over from last summer. I'd taken some out the night before to defrost, so got to work.  I used a slightly different recipe this time, as I had 3kg of fructose to use up. OH had bought it for some reason, but found it way too sweet. It is apparently 3 x the sweetness of regular sugar, so you need to use a third as much as you would regular sugar.

When I normally make jam, I use half sugar to fruit ratio, so this time I used one sixth fructose to fruit which seemed crazy, but it still turned out very sweet. Whilst it was on the hob, I baked some cookies in the oven from a Lidl triple chocolate cookie mix. The last time I used one of these, I burnt them slightly, so was determined not to do the same again.  They came out okay. I probably should have made them smaller though.

Once I'd taken them out of the oven, I put my jam jars in to sterilise for 10 minutes. The 750g of fruit and 125g of fructose made one 350g jar of blackberry jam. 

It didn't take long either. Not as long as it usually takes to make jam, which was good, as it saved on gas. I've got another 4 packs, possibly 800g of brambles in the freezer to make another jar at some point and then that will clear the freezer of most of last year's crops, save for just one bag of tomatoes to use up in soup.

After lunch, I decided to tackle the remainder of the ironing basket. It didn't take too long. It feels good to finally be on top of it. I also got some fabrics together ready to start a new patchwork project. I'm using a curtain as one of the fabrics, so I had to unpick parts of it ready to use.

On Thursday morning, I didn't go to my volunteering. I'm taking a break from it and I'm not sure if I'm going to return to it for the time being. In the morning OH and I went to B&Q instead, to get the pavers for the end of the garden. I also got a couple of hostas to plant into the gaps once they've been laid. There was a 20% off all outdoor plants offer on, which saved us some money. On the way home, OH dropped myself and the dog off and we walked the rest of the way home over some large open green spaces.

After lunch, I didn't do a great deal, but I did start the new patchwork quilt project. I made enough pieces for a couple of the blocks that it will be made up of. It's exciting starting something new, I hope I'm going to like it as it takes shape.

On Friday, I took the dog out in the morning and then when I got back, OH suggested going out for lunch. We got on our bikes and rode over to a place called Hackney Bridge on the canal side. It is like a collection of different food outlets all selling different international foods. There are plenty of outside tables and as it was lovely and sunny, we enjoyed sitting out and eating a bowl of mexican pinto beans, rice, chicken, guacamole and salsa. It was really tasty. This venue holds a flea market on Sundays, which I'm yet to get to, but it will be interesting to check it out sometime.

When we got back, I did some more laundry and then did my usual thing of retiring to the sewing room and doing more work on the new quilt, sewing the first block together. It looks okay so far. I also finished reading Kate Humble's book. It is due back at the library next week. I've got one more borrowed book to read, but I may have to extend it as I don't think I'll finish it in a week.

On Friday night, we found a new series to watch called Maryland on ITVX. It's free to watch, but just has to be streamed from a phone, which I don't know how to do. I need to learn, as there seems to be quite a bit of programmes to watch on there at the moment. 

On Saturday morning, OH was taking the dog out, so I got up and cycled to a free session at the gym. It was the New Age Games over 50's session. I don't often go to it, but money is tight this month, so anything I can save helps a little. I was a bit early for the session, which is held in a small gym, so I went into the big gym to use the rowing machine for 20 minutes. The small gym session gets so busy, it's hard to spend much time on each machine, as there are so many people wanting to use them. I actually quite enjoyed the session and went on lots of different toning type machines, that I don't normally try to use. It made it more varied than pounding on the same machines all the time and the hour went really quickly. 

Since hitting menopause, I've found that my body can't take high impact aerobic exercise as much anymore. It just makes me want to eat more, so I need to move into doing more pilates, yoga, lower impact body conditioning and weights. It's hard to get used to a different pace, as I always loved fast and highly choreographed classes, but I just don't think they benefit me as much now. I still miss them though.

On Saturday afternoon, OH laid the pavers we'd bought earlier in the week and he hung some solar lights and the hammock. The back of the garden looks much better now.  The hammock and the lights just bring it to life. Here's a picture:

All that is left to do is to plant along the back fence. I was really happy with the results and will post another photo once this has been done.

LB called us this evening. She's bringing 10 Uni friends to stay at the house for the weekend, when we go away to a wedding in a few weeks time. We're hoping the house and garden don't get wrecked. The next couple of weeks will be busy, cleaning and readying the house for the onslaught.

Hope you've had a good week.

Allotment Catch Up

On Tuesday morning, I arranged to meet OH down at the allotment in the morning. He was planting out lots of the plants he's bought and grown in pots in the greenhouse. By the time I got there (I got distracted), he'd gone off to walk the dog, so I took a look around and did a bit of weeding. 

Bindweed and brambles always creep in from the far corner, so I cleared that and then cut back an Ash tree that the committee want us to remove. We need to get around to doing this, as there's another inspection of plots at the end of June.

OH has been doing a fabulous job of managing our plot. He's in charge of it these days and as he seems to enjoy it, I let him get on with it. Over the summer though, it can get quite onerous watering and harvesting everyday, so I'll probably go along a lot more to help him. I also need to do some weeding on the plot. It's not too bad, but it could probably do with a bit of work, so that will be a task for me sometime in the near future.

It's looking pretty good though, so I decided to take a little video of the plot whilst I was there, but unfortunately the file was too big to load into Blogger.  Here's a couple of photos instead:

It's a pity about the video, but as you can see from the photos, (apologies for the quality) it's coming along nicely. We've currently got potatoes, beetroot, tomatoes, french beans, asparagus, dahlias, gooseberries, blackcurrants, blueberries, cucumbers, aubergine, courgettes, lettuce, strawberries, peas and raspberries growing and there's sweetcorn and runner beans still to plant out, so hopefully we should get plenty of food from it this year.

The gooseberries and blackcurrants don't actually have a lot of fruit on them this year, due to being pruned quite heavily, as the bushes were getting a bit unwieldy, but we have more growing in the garden at home and we usually get a good crop from the raspberries. Besides, we still have jam left from last year and brambles in the freezer, so hopefully we'll get enough to be self sufficient in jam again this year. I will probably be brambling again on dog walks later in the summer which usually provides quite a few jars.

I'll keep you posted as things start to crop.