Allotment Tales

Wednesday afternoon and I managed to squeeze in a couple of hours at the allotment.  I'd not been for a couple of weeks and needed desperately to get some plants in, that I've been growing on in pots and that have been cluttering up the back garden. 

I took the car and loaded it up with all the plants.  I then had to walk up to the site which is a short walk through the park, and borrow the wheel barrow to barrow them all up to the plot. 

To make room for the new plants, I had to dig up the onions and some of the potatoes I had growing.  The onions weren't very big, but not to worry, they'll still get eaten.

I dug up about one third of the potato plants.  They produced a cloth bag full of lovely potatoes.  I did manage to fork a few and a few had a bit of slug damage, but mostly they were lovely. There must be about 5 or 6 lbs here, if not more.  They should last us a while and there's still plenty more to harvest.

 

Once I'd dug up the onions and potatoes, I dug over the soil and started to plant out some of the plants I had brought with me.  There was sweetcorn, which was looking a little ropey, but will hopefully recover and establish itself soon.

 

 

In front of the sweetcorn are a few pepper and chilli plants I bought ages ago, but which got mauled by snails in the garden, so they are looking a bit pathetic.  I'm hoping now that I've planted them out they might recover.  We'll see, I might be being a touch optimistic.

I also put some courgette plants in.  At least I think that's what they are.  These are two of them, there's another two slotted into gaps.

Finally, I planted out three cucumber plants (there's only two showing in this picture), in the bed where I took out most of the lettuce. 

 

Unfortunately, due to the hot weather virtually all of the lettuce had started to bolt.  It was a pity, but I harvested it anyway and we will eat what we can.  It can taste a little bitter once it has bolted, so if it does, it may have to be composted.  I harvested another couple of large bowls.  Just as well, as we've nearly finished the last lot I harvested.

 

 

There were a few more spring onions too.

 

I was really happy to see that the climbing/runner beans (not sure which) are now looking a lot better and are actually starting to flower.  I didn't take a photo.  The rhubarb looked healthy too, but I didn't harvest any as I still haven't used the last lot.  Note to self - make some more crumbles this week. 

 

I've been putting more effort into the allotment this year and visiting more regularly.  It is starting to pay off.

Holiday Packing

I have a confession to make.  I don't know about anyone else, but I'm completely useless at holiday packing.  I always have been and I probably always will be.  I pack far too much and usually end up coming home with half a suitcase full of unworn clothing. 

I've read the magazine articles, that tell you how to pack a capsule wardrobe, but I just can't seem to put the advice into practice.  In spite of numerous holidays, and many years of visits to family up and down the country, I'm still a terrible packer.  I can manage to pack for a weekend away, but any longer and I struggle.  I can only do it my own way, by packing an outfit for each day, plus a few extras.  Invariably, when I actually get to the holiday destination, if it is a beach type holiday, I spend most of my time in shorts, vests and swimsuits, only wear half of the packed garments and when I do, I often decide on new and more interesting combinations, inspired by the people I see out and about.

I'm not going to waste my time vowing that it will be different this year, because I know it won't, but I am going to try to do a better job of it, if it is at all possible . 

With less than two weeks to go until we go away on our annual holiday, and with the knowledge of how bad I am at packing, last night I decided to get started.  I usually start early and add things to the suitcase as I do the washing and ironing and the things that I want to take are laundered and ready.  I generally re-pack the case several times in the week and days before we are due to depart, taking out things I no longer wish to take and adding others, until it feels like I have got the right combination and the right weight of course.  I think it helps me to prepare mentally for the holiday. 

On occasion, I have still got it terribly wrong.  Like the time we went to Morocco and I hardly packed anything to cover my legs and arms (We were travelling around on trains with local people).  That really has got to be the worst packing disaster yet.  I managed not to cause any offence, thankfully, but believe me, it wasn't easy with the very few long sleeved and full length items I had with me.

OH, on the other hand, has the ability to throw a few things into a suitcase and go the very same day, wearing everything he takes and not worrying one iota about it.  It's truly sickening.  Is it a man thing or is it just me?  Are you a good holiday packer?  Any useful tips are very welcome.

A Good Hair Day for a Change

Today, I spent most of the day at our local Shopping Mall, in an attempt at getting my twice yearly hair cut and colour.  It was long overdue and looking dreadful.  I couldn't put it off a moment longer, especially with a special day out planned for later in the week and our annual holiday only two weeks away. 

I tried to get there as early as possible, as the salon I go to has a no booking policy.  You have to just turn up and wait.  Unfortunately, though, Little Bird wasn't very well today and was off school, so I couldn't go as early as I'd have liked.  OH, who works from home, was able to look after her, but I did still feel a little guilty pampering myself while she was ill at home. 

I stopped in at Waitrose and claimed my free cup of tea which I drank whilst I was waiting to be attended to.  I also took a book with me, to keep me occupied during the long process of having the foils put in and taken out.  Once it was done it felt so good to tick the job off my to do list and I was very happy with the results.  I came out feeling like a normal person again.  I really shouldn't leave it so long, but I always do.

I hadn't been to the mall for a couple of months, so once I'd finished at the hairdressers, I had intended to have a little mooch around the shops.  I needed to get a couple of things, one being a new clock for our kitchen wall.   I'd seen a couple of nice ones on John Lewis's website and wanted to see them in the flesh, so to speak, and see which one I liked best.  However, due to the fact that I had a long wait in the hairdressers and Little Bird being unwell, I just bought some sushi for lunch and a treat for her from the Japanese store on my way out, then headed home on the bus.  I'm taking Little Bird there on Thursday as a treat, all being well, as she has a day off school due to a teachers' strike, so I can do my shopping then.

With our holiday only a couple of weeks away, I also need to do a bit of holiday toiletry shopping, so a visit to Boots will also be on the agenda.  I don't need too much, just a blemish stick, some sun cream, a travel soap holder, some toothpaste and new toothbrushes.  Not the cheapest place to buy these things, I realise, but at least I get some advantage points on my card.  After spending a year on the beauty challenge, it is good to be able to buy a few things and not think about a budget and whether or not I am breaking it.

A Weekend in Yorkshire for the Grand Depart

I took a little break from blogging this weekend as we travelled up to Yorkshire to see the start of the Tour de France.  It was a long haul, taking us 5 hours or so to get up there, as traffic was very heavy.  We were staying at OH's sisters house in Silsden, West Yorkshire.  The tour was due to pass through there during Stage Two on Sunday.

On Saturday, OH cycled off to watch the 1st Stage (many roads were closed so cycling was the best option), whilst the Little Bird and I hung out with family members, watching the stage on TV.  Later, I decided to venture into the town centre, as I'd noticed lots of decorations had been put up all over the town.   Here's a few pictures.

Yellow was a definite theme.

There were yellow shop windows,

 

artistic shop windows,

 

 

 

yellow flowers in gardens and hanging baskets,

yellow balloons,

lots of knitted jumpers in the colours of the race leaders' jerseys,  (so cute)

 

even the bollards on the roadside were painted the colours of the jerseys.

 

 

There was lots of Tour themed bunting strung everywhere,

 

and lots of bikes painted and decorated in yellow,

.

 

 

 

I particularly liked this rather amusing installation, which I was told found its way onto the Tour De France website.

Quite a few campsites had been set up on the edges of town, providing entertainment and food for visitors during their stay.

It was great that the whole town, and the county of Yorkshire generally, had really embraced the Tour and welcomed it with open arms.

On Sunday, we ventured down to the High Street to watch the race pass through.  There was a great atmosphere on the roadside and it wasn't so crowded that you couldn't see the racers pass by.  Everyone was excited, friendly and just having a good time.  Eventually the Tour came through.   They pass so quickly, if you blink you could almost miss it.  Little Bird managed to get me quite a good photo of the peloton passing through.  (She's a much better photographer than I am!)

Once the race had passed, it was back up to the house for a BBQ, before heading back to London for the 3rd and final stage in this country, which passed not far from where we live.  OH and I cycled up the road to watch it and then cycled back to see the finish on TV. 

It was a tiring weekend, but great fun, very memorable, and it was lovely to be able to soak up the party atmosphere everywhere.   Tomorrow the Tour starts from Le Touquet, one of our favourite haunts in France.  We won't be following it, unfortunately.

D is for Doggy Brooch Collection

A few years ago I was a bit of a collector.  I collected all sorts of things, dog brooches being one of them.  The brooches I collected were mostly terriers, many of them Westies, but some other terriers too.  I particularly liked the ones made from old plastic or celluloid.

Here's a picture of my collection.  I put them on a tartan background as I thought it was appropriate to the breed of dog.

 

Some of them are brooches, others are just pins, some have moveable heads, others just have heads.  It is little surprise, that when we came to get a real dog, we chose a terrier.  A Cairn to be exact.  I must have subconsciously had a desire to own one.  Some of the brooches even look a little like her. 

I don't really still collect them, as apart from trying not to accumulate more 'stuff', when you see and walk a real live one every day, the need somehow subsides.  (In addition, they can be quite expensive.)   If I see one on my travels and it is inexpensive, I might add it to the collection. 

Here's a picture of the reluctant real live doggy, keeping out of the sun. (She's so hard to photograph, as she will never look towards the camera.)

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

Where did the week go?

It's been a bit of a hectic week this week.  Mondays are always a bit fraught, as I am here, there and everywhere, and as a consequence, no cleaning got done for a friend's impending visit.

Subsequently, I spent the whole of the afternoon and evening on Tuesday cleaning the house in readiness for my friend's arrival.  Luckily, I didn't need to meet her until 9pm, so I just about managed to do everything I needed to.  It was good to get it done, as I can now enjoy the rest of July knowing it has had a good clean.

After collecting my friend from the exhibition she was attending, in which some of her work was being shown, it was back home for drinks, food and a good catch up.

On Wednesday I was booked onto a new Zumba class (quite challenging, but good), whilst my friend enjoyed an impromptu visit to a local design museum, followed by a return to the exhibition.  Later, we all met up with her in the City for dinner, before dropping her off at the station to catch her train home.  It was a bit of a whirlwind visit, but I think she enjoyed it.  It was lovely to have a visitor and for us to catch up with each others' news.

Today, Little Bird had a big day ahead of her, as she was attending a taster day at her new secondary school.  She was a bit nervous and very excited at the same time.  She made her way there with a few of her primary school friends, who will also be attending the school in September.  She got to meet her new teacher and find out who her future classmates will be.  All very exciting stuff for her.  When she got home she had to make some buns for the School Fete tomorrow.  They turned out pretty well.

The dog also had an important day, as she was being filmed in a promo video that the dog trainer had organised.  OH gave her an impromptu groom, so that she looked her absolute best.  Film star dog, well almost, what next?

With the dog out all afternoon, I could get out in the garden and dig some more bindweed out of the borders.  It keeps coming back, but I'm determined to eradicate it eventually.  I took the cover off the greenhouse, so that if it rains whilst we're on holiday over the summer, the plants can get a watering.  I also planted up some more tomato plants in another grow bag.  Some of the remaining ones I'm sending to the school for the fete tomorrow and the rest, which were a bit leggy, will get put outside the house for anyone to take, if they want them that is.  It was nice to have the garden to myself for once and get on and do a few jobs uninterrupted.

Tomorrow, we're heading up to Yorkshire to watch the Grand Depart of the Tour de France.  The race is passing through the village that we're staying in, where OH's sister lives.  I might use the opportunity to take Little Bird on a little excursion in West Yorkshire, to one of my favourite tourist attractions, if the roads aren't too affected by the Tour that is.  I will blog about it should it actually happen.  OH should get to see the tour again when we get back too, as on Monday it comes to London. 

A busy week and the summer holidays are hurtling towards us at high speed.  I hope you're having a great week.

A Year in Books - July

I've not done as much reading in June as I have in previous months.  I just don't seem to have had the time.  I managed to finish two of the books I intended reading.   This one by Lisa Jewell.

This book was a definite page turner.  From almost the minute I picked it up, I found it very hard to put down.  In fact, I finished it in just two days, so compelling was the story, and I haven't done that with a book in a long, long time.  It was a story about a girl, who after being dragged from a house fire at the age of 9, lost all memory of her earlier life.    Fast forward 25+ years and whilst on a first date, she goes to watch a hypnotist's show and is called out of the audience to participate.  Subsequently, her memory starts to come back and the story of her early life is unravelled.  I just couldn't help wanting to push on with this book and find out what had happened in her past.  This book was a great read.

Next, I read this book by Stephen Clarke, purported to be loosely based on his first year spent living and working in Paris, France.

I really enjoyed this book.  Some of his experiences working for a French company and boss seemed at first to be a little far fetched, but then I could also imagine them to be true, so it was ultimately very entertaining.  This book gave an interesting insight into the French work ethic and psyche and from this point of view, I found it fascinating.  The main character's romantic exploits also featured in this funny and entertaining account of life en France.  I believe the author may have written subsequent accounts of his later exploits in France which might also be worth a read, so I'll be looking out for them on the bookshelves of the local charity shops on my travels.

The final book I wanted to read in June was this book by Plum Sykes, about debutante divorcees in New York.

I'm currently a few chapters in and am finding it quite entertaining, if a bit frustrating, as the behaviour of the characters just seems so far from removed from the reality that I exist in, that the lives of the super rich New Yorkers it depicts, seem quite ridiculously self indulgent and frivolous.  I guess it takes all kinds to make a world.

Anyway, once I have finished reading this book, I intend to read the following books in July.  I'm sticking to reading books by authors unknown to me, as there are quite a few of them in my book pile.  Firstly, this one by Lucy Diamond.

Followed by this one by Carmen Reid,

and lastly this one by Abby Clements.

A bit of a 'chick lit' month for me which is perfectly fine, as July will include our annual holiday and I'm expecting some of this reading to hopefully take place on a beach or by a pool in the Italian sunshine.  I'm very much looking forward to these new reading locations, as opposed to reading in bed at home in snatched half hours before getting up or going to sleep.