Cellar Store Room - One Year On.

Afternoon.

Just a super quick post showing how I'm using my Doomsday Prep cellar store room.

Just a year ago I was so excited that it was finished and couldn't wait to actually use it. Bovey Belle said that in a year I would be running out of space for things so that is why I decided to do a little before and after post.

Here is how the main part of the space looked on completion...

and here is how it looks now. Eeek!

I'm not exactly running out of space but it is definitely VERY useful. The shelves are now home to my spare preserving things along with the goodies I've managed to make this past year. Also I keep coffee/tea etc. supplies for the Airbnb room there as well as spare non-perishable items; I have a few things in stock for Christmas housed on the shelves and I still get a buzz out of going in there!

I've just sorted out a couple of cardboard boxes that were underneath the gingham curtains. They were a little damp, after all it is still a cellar, so as long as non-plastic things are kept off the floor then all is well. I'll soon be bringing up the Christmas decorations as they quite happily live down there now keeping dry in proper boxes.

Such a useful room as I also keep my recycling bags down there in between collections. After Christmas I will give it a good sweep and wash the curtains; I might even take them up a little as they drag on the floor a touch.

Ok, going on about this JUST a bit too much.

Bye for now.

Lou.xx

Normality In November?!

Morning.

Here, I'm not sure how, we are in November. I decided to take couple of photos from the garden. What an Autumn day it was yesterday, glorious, not at all cold.

The boys are back to school for the last half of the term before Christmas. (At this point I have to admit we were singing the 12 Days Of Christmas in the car on the way back from collecting them on Saturday!)

We had our little Halloween celebration yesterday and the boys had carved their pumpkins, with a little help from Dad, on Sunday evening.

(Sorry, no time for PicMonkey; I know it would look better.)

The beetroot has been taken up!  

With a couple of inches of roots on each, my harvest weighed in at almost 3lbs. 

Not a great amount I know but I am really learning how things look in the patch space wise and I will plant twice as much next year. I have put them in storage in a box of my compost, don't have any sand left over from the rendering unfortunatley, but just for a little while as I don't have time to pickle it at the moment. The box will soon be able to to into the cellar store room with the onions. Harry can't wait; he LOVES beetroot!

Oh, have been meaning to say the following - 

- the garlic I'm growing is called Germidour and I planted two bulbs which had approximately 12 cloves on each I think

- the pak choi is a Green F1 Hybrid and I have planted around 20 seeds I think. Will see how they get on then might start off a few more,

Where was I? I dug over some of the veg patch after I took up the beetroot ready to put in the onions. Can't do anymore today as my back is really suffering - I can't often do two days on the trot. I showed a photo of the sets I had delivered but the vaireties are called Red Cross, red onions, Snowball, white and Tornado, brown. I'm not sure if I can get all the sets in the space I have so will have to see. Has anybody grown any of these vaieties? (I bought them together as they came together in a bundle.)

Oh, Jon found this in the shed; you normally put knives on it in a kitchen but it is just the ticket in the Poly House.

The foliage on the sweet potatoes is starting to die back quite a bit which is very exciting. I ordered some slips for next year but of course they won't arrive for a good while yet. I'll be interested to see how these harvest as they are just three in the growing bag given to me by Dawn.

Oh, this was the temperature in the Poly House yesterday and it said on the news this morning that Mid-Wales was 71 degrees yesterday - weather here was a-maze-ing yesterday, so warm and gorgeous, words fail me, really just a fab day. 

The ceiling and the one required wall in the cellar store room have been plastered and with any luck should be painted by the weekend as it is drying very well. We may use a lime paint on the stone work, not sure yet but we were left lots of it in the shed and it would save buying any more paint.

Look at the sign Jon made me!

If you need an explanation please feel free to ask as I don't think I have mentioned it in a previous post! I have spotted some reasonably priced gingham on the internet so will order that net week. I really miss having an indoor market like we used to visit before we move; nothing like that in Aber I'm afraid. I love Aberdashery but a bit expensive at times.

I have purchased a couple of things for the house/kitchen in readiness for Christmas. I needed a good piping bag so that I can decorate biscuits...

love Tala products.

I LOVED the honeycomb decorations last year but just didn't have quite enough....

There are four 12inch ones - two red and teo green - I have two smaller white ones to come along with two packs of LED lights; the battery run ones are fab as you can put them anywhere.

The Christmas cake in the oven and cooking a little quicker than in the gas oven; keeping a close eye on it as obviously the first time I have baked it in the Rayburn - wasn't confident enough with it last year!  I'll put it away until next week when it will be fed for the first time. I just use Gluvhein, is that how you spell it, but I may pop a bit of Jack Daniels in it as we have a bit left over from a family get together in the summer.

Well, I think that is quite enough of a ramble for the morning. I think I will go out and prune the rose bush around the front door today as it has finished flowering I think. It needs to be cut back so we don't get poked in the eye with a very sharp thorn!

Bye for now.

Lou.xx