Finally!

Finally I dragged my bum outside and got some jobs done yesterday. I have to acknowledge the return of Tracey from Our Smallholding Adventure who shamed me into it after being so flippin' active on her return from hols! I admit to having found it hard to get outside recently and I also am not keen on the way the garden is looking at the moment but such is nature.

I dug over the area where the beetroot had been, gave the failed ones to the chickens then as I knew there was a good chance of frost my Spring cabbage is now out. Due to the state of the Poly House I think I can say they have been hardened off recently! I also covered them with a couple of cloches I had so was pleased to get them in the ground.

I also took up the courgette plant as it had come to the end of its natural, dug over the bed and covered it, using some of the polythene off the Poly House😊 I hope to grow cauliflower here next year. I had covered up the turnips here but took it off later for the cabbage as the turnips were well established; I just hope I get something out of them for a few stews. 

Oh, something I did when we lit the Rayburn; I moved the coffee and tea things from the top kitchen and I really quite like them here. I've swapped the microwave up to the top as I'm doing my best to use the Rayburn for little things like defrosting meat and warming beans for breakfast instead so I don't use the gas and this way the microwave is out of sight!

Now All Hallows is almost upon us we have a few decorations up. These tags come out every year; I made them in 2011 using on this one the orange foil wrapping from a Smarties sweet amongst other bits and pieces. 

This simple candle will dress these cones for a little while until it is turned into a decoration for December.

Here is Alfie carving these two pumpkins all by himself and was very chuffed with the results.

I took the boys to Aber to catch a coach for a trip to Swansea today with Urdd and they won't be back to Aber until 5.45pm; I'm making sausage casserole tonight slow in the Rayburn as I can do other stuff whilst it is doing its thing.

This is not a very interesting post, more of a bit of a record of the time of the year. Jon is doing amazingly well on the second room; bathroom is painted and we have a special backing for the sink which looks stunning so will share some photos when the floor goes down and a few other bits are finished.

I've done a lot this morning, upstairs and down - bread proving, bed changed, kitchen swept and mopped, washer on etc. so once I have the casserole in the oven after lunch I'm not sure how I will spend the rest of the day. Feel like playing hooky with the boys being out during half-term and me being on my own!!

That's it I think.

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

Season In The Sun.

This morning I went to let the girls out and feed them as it was too dark for Jon to do it when he went to work.

As I walked down the garden I felt as if I were being bathed in the early morning sun, there was a slight tinge to the sky and with the gorgeous coloured leaves under foot and being rustled by Jake running around me I thought was a lovely start to the day.

After reading a post by Tracey over at Our Smallholding Adventure I considered how I was feeling just now. My boys have been away with the Gramps since Sunday so the day time is sometimes a bit wierd with me being on my own until Jon is home. However, I never have a problem being on my own but with the season changing there is not so much to do outside and I find I really do miss that. I'm so looking forward to getting seeds sown from January in readiness for a new growing year.

I have been meaning to say for a little while now "thank you"  to the new people who subscribe to my little ramblings and also the new followers. For a very short while I could see the gadget but it has, for me, disappeared again although funnily enough I can see it on my tablet!

My boys will be home late on Saturday as we are heading to Abergele to collect them after we go out for some food then to see fireworks with them and the Gramps. I have put up the Halloween decorations in the living room, as you can see, which they will like.

(Ooh my little men when they were in Pre-sshool!)

This one hangs in the kitchen.

Yesterday I went to our monthly cummunity lunch and after being there for just five minutes I was roped in to help serve. All good fun - bangers and mash! I also put my name down to provide potatoes again for the Christmas lunch at the beginning of December. Always a good choice as with Jon being a former trained chef he can turn the spuds nicely for me and I only have to roast them and take them a few steps across the road on the big day!

The cellar room is coming along well. 

The rendering is done and dried and the plaster board is up on the ceiling and the one wall. Jon will start the actual plastering on Saturday morning when I go do the food shopping. All that should be dry by the middle of the week and then painting can commence. After that we will clean the floor and properly enjoy the colours of the tiles for the first time! I have measured up for the gingham curtains and plan on buying the fabric next weekend. Jon isn't starting plastering tonight as we are having a treat meal out for a curry in Aber which we often do when the boys are away but fist time since we have been here so v. excited!

Right, time to fetch the eggs.

Bye for now.

Lou.xx