Inside and out, this and that, keeping on keeping on, still!

 Hello.

I really am loathe to start with my usual how are you all doing opener. Things are detreriorating with the pandemic in many places just now which is very sad indeed; we really have gone back many steps. I continue to feel very guilty about not wanting to go out more than necessary, yet want the boys to get their education in school as I think that is so important - I can't do a good enough job with the home schooling. I've been shopping and stocked up, sensibly, on top of the shopping trip I made last week so hope to not need going again for a couple of weeks at least apart from fresh fruit an veg if needed until the garden get going with autumn growing.🤞 We're going back a little to how we cooked, baked and ate in the early days of lockdown so I feel this will start to make me feel a little more comfortable. I hope with the nights drawing in that people MAY beginto stay in more and help with slowing the spread of infection but who knows. 

I continue to say we're doing our own thing andTracy at Our Smallholding Adventure talks about here in her latest post, what we are dealing with right now IS right now, normal for the foreseeble and we just have to deal with it - keep on keeping on.

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Anyway, here's me cheering myself up with inside and out of my little patch of paradise. 

If you read my last post the week was set to end with some really warm days and it did, however this weekend there was a distinct change. We'd already lit the wood burner on Friday night...

 and on Saturday morning with this lovely ice pattern on the bathroom Velux window.

the decision was made to light the Rayburn; yes, the old girl was fired up!

I feel sooo cosy just looking at this photo and as I type this my back is lovely and warm! We cooked our chicken Sunday roast in and on it yesterday and I'm looking forward to start baking bread and goodies for the tin.

The woodpile has been ready for this moment for a good few weeks now, even having a third extension plus roof so the Welsh rain doesn't ruin Jon and the boys' stacking efforts, so we're good to go for a lovely warm Winter indoors.

On Saturday afternoon the temperature in the poly tunnel was a surprising 32 degrees but I started work on something Jon and I had talked about; just a little project outside in the garden. The sink outside the poly house was cleared and will have new compost added and the sage, thyme and oregano are now housed in one of the tall planters on the garden side of the veg patch.

We plan on putting herbs in all the three planters so I'll need to check which herbs like living together. I know there three are happy house mates but will have to do a little homework reseach - just may ask the lovely Sara at Hawkwell Herbs for some advice.

I'm planning on growing flowers in the sink and toilet so have to move the two mint plants, replace that compost and get my bumbs organised - I would love to have some cutting flowers.

Also around the garden my multi-sown leeks seem to be coming along very nicely so fingers crossed we can have those on Christmas Day - unlike my second cropping spuds as blight has done for them I'm afraid.

  

Looking around I spotted these strawberries in some  planters I've left outside for some time. 

Still seem to be fruiting and just today I saw these others in the poly tunnel. They are some of  the runners I've planted - obviously one pot had some seeds in it already which I didn't realise!

My tomatoes are just about coming to an end. They are finally ripenening and read somewhere that laying the plants down can help with the process so giving that a go.

We haven't had anywhere near as many tomatoes as we would have liked but what we have had have been much better quality than in the past so maybe I'm getting there, finally!

I'm so pleased that the runner beans are really flowering now but not sure when I might get any pods.

I'm really please that the first lettuces I sowed and planted are doing very well so hope for the same with the ones planted later.

Earlier this morning I took a llittle walk a few minutes from the house and picked a couple of things to go with the crysanthymums and gourds I bought yesterday. A taste of Autumn in the kitchen so brighten my days.

That's enough of my ramblings and, as usual, I say stay safe.

Bye for now,

Lou.xx

Switcheroo In The Poly Tunnel - Times They Are A Changing.

Afternoon!

How are you?

I'm ok although had a little bit of a wobble recently and today I'm not much better here and there. I'm concerned we're surely heading toward a second wave as infection rates are up everywhere- because of this I am having problems with conflicting feelings. 

I'm really happy our boys are back at school as I think they need to be, especially when they were off for so long and also the youngest is settling in so well to his new surroundings. However, I am tentatively preparing for when I really don't want to go out for a while which makes me feel guilty.... We will see how things develop but it doesn't harm to be ready. I don't want there to be another lockdown as the people who will suffer the most are those who are already in financial trouble. 

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The weather here is glorious for September and set to be so for the next few days.

I've dragged myself outside, yes I know I should have more enthusiasm for my little patch of paradise, over the last couple of days to do some jobs in the poly tunnel before its been getting too hot and things are changing in there. (Sorry this is a bit dark.)

I've been meaning to cut back the cucumber and tomato plants to let in the sun and today I finally got the job done. I ended up with a lot of garden waste after these jobs which will find its way down to the field when Jon is having a fire. I was really pleased to spend time doing this even though, as is my want, I was thinking I should be getting jobs done indoors!😖 

(This is my new little trolley Jon got for me from a well known social media platform.)👏👏👏

Another job I've done is to make the fridge pickles out of some cucumbers we were given so this will hopefully encourage me to eat more of our salad along with it!

The runner beans are getting close to flowering, below on the left, and the cucumbers have properly come on in the last few days! Bit late but very pleased. 

I've brought in a few tomatoes now, I can see through the leaves, which were close to ripening but left others to hopefully come on this week.🤞

I have something quite exciting - the first squash I've ever managed to grow!

It weighs 4.8lbs, the one vegetable spaghetti from my triffid of a plant given to me by a friend! Thanks again Karen, this will make some soup for sure! Never mind, I'm curing it in the conservatory and then will store it in the cellar to have in the winter, hopefully.

This is the space I have now cleared, for what I'm not sure.

I sowed Meteor peas some time back and today I put 15 of the plants in, still have some left, and to make the best of the space I've also planted some multi-sown spring onions.

I've planted some Autumn Corvina broccoli where some of the tomatoes were including two which I moved from the bed on the other side so I made the best of the space. I should sow/plant something else here to make the best of the room but I think I've got enough lettuce!

Today the weather is gorgeous and I tried to get outside. I needed to give the usual Friday whip round with the vacuum, I like everything to be lovely on Friday night when we are all having a cosy night together, clothes put out of the way and this blog post finished of course. I also decided I needed two bread loaves for the weekend, biscuits for the tin, dough for the boys' pizza tea and an apple crumble for puddings. I also had a zoom chat with a friend so it was a bit a bit of a busy day.

Biscuits and crumble-  ✅  (Crumble is in the fridge ready to pop in the oven when we need it.)

Dough is in the fridge, too, so I can make the pizzas fresh later ✅ and the bread loaves are cooling. 

Didn't manage to get outside, apart from to feed the chooks and collect the eggs. Never mind, the weather is forecast to be good over the weekend so I'll get stuff done then.

Hope you have a wonderful, and safe, weekend.

Take care.

Bye for now,

Lou.xx