Postal Delights And Other Goodies.

Good morning!

On Friday I received a parcel from Thompson & Morgan; it was my garlic cloves and onion sets! They are currently in a cupboard until they are needed. 

The boys and I left Jon at the train on Saturday morning as he went to pick up a car we were buying in Abergele. We three went to do the food shopping and a few jobs in town. I picked up a copy of Smallholing magazine and it came with a chicken mag, too.

I've always fancied taking a look at a copy of this just to see how people do stuff! I was chuffed there was a competition to win some electric fencing but then, darn it, I realised the competition time had run out! I should say that the man who owns the sawmill where Jon works has said we can have some of the piglets when he puts his sow to boar (I think that is the correct term). When home the postman had brought my Grow Your Own magazine, along with my calendar for next year and I love it; this year in addtion to the usual stickers there are fridge magnets!

I was trying to think how long I've been using this particular calendar and it must be about eight years as I know Alfie was born; it is THE best way of organising me and mine.

On Sunday morning I got busy in the garden and sowed a few more cauliflower seeds and finished the garden prep on the bed I had started; carbooard and then polythene topped with a pallet to keep everything flat. Lovely to think the manure will all rot down and hopefully the bed will be a treat for the brassicas once Autumn and Winter have passed.

On Monday morning I weighed myself following the changes to my diet and I found I had lost 2¼lbs. Wish it had been a little more but as least it is a loss.

I set to with a couple of jobs outside once the bread had been started. I finished preparing the spot on the main veg plot by first taking down the last tomato plant, giving it to the chooks then adding the contents of the grow bag to the plot and forking it through ready for the garlic to be planted.

I also put some fleece over the beetroot just to protect them a little while longer before I take them up, thanks Dawn. It isn't the prettiest looking effort but I hope it will do the job. (I have tidied it up a bit since this photo was taken!)

The postman brought more delights. I have been having trouble deciding where to put the washing line/whirly gig when we finally got round to buying one.After dicussion we decided the best thing was to have a retractable one and then it wouldn't matter where it was as we could just pull it back in when not needed, so...

and it is already in full use.

I had a friend over for coffee this morning, Tuesday, so a couple of hours of garden, craft and other chat and she came bearing gifts of more apples. Yay!

These are awating some attention and may be turned into apple sauce and stored away in my new Kilner jars! The ones given to me at the weekend I have blanched and put in the freezer for another day. 

Just as said friend was leaving the postman delivered my part of the stationery swap I have taken part in. Eeeek!

Washi tape, post-it notes, a note book, stickers AND some cute candles.

This morning I managed to dust the living room before the kids went to school then before my coffee chat put the washing on. I've also got round to sowing a few more Pak Choi seeds, collected the eggs and am currently having a very late lunch whilst writing this post. 

I'm amazed the boys will be home shortly as I'm not sure where the day has gone AT ALL!

Bye for now.

Lou.xx

That Was The Week That Was.

Well, here we are at Friday again. Hmmmm.

This week has not been too busy. We have been experimenting lighting and using the Rayburn but only for water and cooking as not quite cool enough for the heating. We have actually tunred off all the radiators downstairs as we won't need them when both the Rayburn and the woodburner are fired up. We may keep it in today as it is gradually getting colder. I'm having to get used to the right temperature for things especially baking. Earlier in the week I made some sandwich biscuits filled with lemon curd or strawberry jam and yesterday I made scones and a lemon and chocolate cake; the latter was done on the top some time before the inside so had to keep popping it back in with the top covered. But everything came out ok in the end.

I took part in a Stationery Swap and posted off my little parcel and very excited to hopefully receive mine today - maybe in time to post a photo today!

I have caught up with my Box of Experiences; I use this old Oxo box. 

This is where I write a quick note of somethings we did as a family through the year and then we will read through them on NewYear's Eve. Really looking forward to that as I don't think the men of the house know I'm doing it.

I have done some work outside. I finally got some manure from our neighbour yesterday to put on what will become the brassicas bed. He also gave me a basket full of apples which were some he had picked off another neighbours tree...

and there will be more hopefully, and I can get more manure when I want, too! This is how the bed looks after being cleared of the sweetcorn, some of my compost added along with some egg shells.

The manure is well rotted so going to add that to the bed with some bought-in compost as not in a position to get any top soil at the moment. The bed got very few weeds in it when the sweetcorn was in it so I'm taking a chance that once I have turned it all over with these additions and then coverd it with cardboard it will be ok for when I'm ready to put the plants in. As ever, any advice on this is always welcome but this is the best I can manage at the moment with current supplies.

My last ramble is a personal one. Since Monday of this week I have been on a bit of a detox, no carb, white meat diet. I have eaten no bread, potatoes, pasta or red meat. No coffee or tea or cakes. I have drunk only water and eaten eggs, pulses, salad, cooked and raw veg, chicken and plain fish, smoked haddock, nuts, dried fruit, seeds and porridge made with water topped with fresh fruit and linseeds. It may sound a bit boring but I have really enjoyed it as well as making veg soup. The first couple of days I had a terrible headache which I think was from the caffeine withdrawl but that passed after a couple of days, as did the lethargy I felt until Wednesday.

I am very proud of myself I have to say as I have made said cakes and sat in the car whilst the boys all ate Snickers bars! I have continued to make dishes such as lasagne and sausage and pasta bake for the boys, too! I expect to lose weight and will weigh myself on Monday morning to see what progress I have made. I think I will continue with this next week but will add some plain yoghurt to my puddings of fruit and nuts

Has anybody else tried anything like this? 

Will keep an eye on what people are up to over the weekend.

Bye for now.

Lou.xx

Crikey - So Many Photos To Share!

Hi, one quick baking item and a couple of other photos to share. 

I made three ginger cakes on Friday as I didn't have the same sized tin as the recipe required, but this is ok as was easy to freeze when cut into good pieces for lunch boxes.

The piano we collected the other weekend is this and a corker for a tenner. Alfie loves it and he likes using the pedals.

I have bought a diary for the garden, fruit n veg dates, info etc but always have to papercraft a bit and decorate a plain cover. Here is is making use of some pages from one of my Pretty Nostalgic books.

Nice huh?

Anyhow, this weekend we've been getting a few things done outside as well as other stuff. 

On Saturday we headed to Aber to get the food shopping but not before Jon had been to the sawmill for a supply of logs, these are in Jon's shed drying out, and we lit the Rayburn to start getting used to it. 

When we came back my parcel I had been waiting for had arrived. I used some birthday money to buy some Kilner jars. I do consider these an investment for preserving food so very excited to have them even though won't use them for a little while yet so have found them a new home after a bit of a shift round.

Jon fitted a new present for the girls. We had stopped to get laying pellets and then Jon saw on offer a water feeder which is now hooked up to one of the water butts;  this will proivde them with fresh water each time the reservoir is empty. Jon buried the hose pipe underground...

then the ladies seemed happy!

On Sunday morning we lit the Rayburn again to slow cook some pork for tea. Jon got busy with the conservatory side of the house from where the oil tank had been removed. This is how it looks now, ready for the basket ball hoop that will probably arrive at Christmas, but we also plan on a little table and chairs for this spot! 

Another area around the house tidied up and ticked off the list.

Whilst Jon was on that I cleaned out the chickens and washed out some planters so they are clean in the Poly House for when I need them.

On Sunday we took a ride out to see a car Jon was interested in buying but it had been taken so we went into Aber for a walk on the seafront and a play on the arcade games. On the way back to the car we looked in this fabulous vintage shop which we found the other week. Great stock and not all massively expensive - I bought my teracotta plants pots from here. I had to take a few snaps of some things I liked.

I am desperate to get some taxidermy in the living room at some point; loved this hare with its horns!

Love this gas mask, complete with beret.

A fantastic array of vintage garden paraphernalia.

This chest caught my eye last time....

but this was new in and fab-u-larse, darling!

So to today. This morning I have sown some pak choi seeds. I have decided to germinate them on the bench and then put them in the bed in the Poly House in a couple of weeks. I know them can bolt if the weather is a bit warm so people grow them outside but now the weather is getting a little cooler I think they should be ok in there, unless anybody else has experience of growing the Chinese lettuce, I think that is another name for it?

I have picked my one and only pepper today. As you can see by the scale it isn't very big but I hope Jon enjoys it; I don't like green peppers.

I ate my lunch outside today, lovely, and Jake was soaking up the sun!

Not too busy a week coming up but we have a check up at the hospital for Jon on Wednesday; we are aranging for the boys to be watched so I can go with him; he always forgets to ask something!

Bye for now.

Lou.xx

Bits And Bobs And Corn Cobs

Hi!

Today is a lovely blustery Autumn morning but not that cold for the end of September.

Jon and I were sitting at breakfast longing for when it will be properly Autumn - I can hear somebody saying "careful what you wish for".

These are the two other birthday gifts I hadn't got round to photographing.

Last week we had a really good week for eggs so made a quiche for Jon's lunches.

After last weekend being so hectic I have had a quiet-ish time this week, but the usual bread baking and cake making and managed to fit in a quick visit to my elderly neighbour - I haven't seen her since the boys went back to school. 

This morning I got the boys off and then vacuumed all downstairs and finished wiping down the kitchen shelves as still dusty after moving the boiler out and some other jobs over the weekend! Then I headed outside to the Poly House; temperature still good in there. 

A quick look round at the few things going on. The beans are growing very well but hope they live with the canes I put in at the beginning. 

My trays of sowing are coming through. These are the caulis, salad leaves and turnips. (I'm taking a punt on the last ones).

Other bits and pieces are spring onions I have growing which I think I'll pick soon. Realised a little too late that I have been mollycoddling them (sorry Dawn) and should just be growing them outside like leeks! 

I collected the eggs and anything else that was being offered up. 

You can see that I have the very last three corn cobs; they are really not the most fantastic but I grew them! I can boil them and use the kernels in something for tea tonight and the few we have had have been so delicious. This is how the bed looks now, it has been such a feature outside of the Poly House.

The girls are enjoying chowing down on some of the stems and have the others put to one side to drip feed to them. 

I have some work to so on the bed as this is going to be my brasicas bed! There are some big juicy worms in it so that is a bonus. 

Still taking up yummy turnips and the latest tomatoes plus a few to turn yet.

I have ordered some things from Thompson & Morgan using my gift vouchers and already I have received some seeds for Pak Choi and tomatoes called Capriccio which look a lovely shape and size for bottling so that is my plan for those next year.

I also bought some daff bulbs. I wanted to buy a couple of packets as I am sure I lost quite a few of the ones we had last Spring when we had the garden scraped down. I so loved being able to pick flowers straight from the garden.

These I got from Charlie's whilst asking, again, if they had their Christmas seed potatoes in yet! The answer was no last weeken - nearly out of time!

Right, I think I'm going to bake a ginger cake - first go at one of those but on Jon and the boys' list for new bakes. Oh, didn't some of the citrus meringue pies look yummy on the Bake Off last night? If the weather remains dry I think I'll try and forage another lot of balckberries for the freezer after lunch. I have the guest room to vacuum and bed to change so that is another job to be done before lunch.

Bye for now.

Lou.xx

Birthday Boots And Other Stuff.

Saturday was my birthday and I received some lovely things including these wellie boots to replace the ones I was bought last year...

this lovely set of notebooks, and I think you know I have a bit of a thing about stationery, from one of my sisters will be added to the pile of notebooks I have yet to use...

and they came with this book, too.

I also had a lovely hand and nail kit from The White Company and an old cooking book. (Photos of those next time.)

Even though it was my birthday life doesn't stop. I had to go and do the food shopping plus Jon's dad and his wife were here so that he could help do the final switch over of the Rayburn. I gave Jon a little hand taking out the oil bolier so I now have another cupboard for storage in the kitchen....

...and this will be getting painted and have new shelves.

The oil tank was drained of all the oil although Jon was having trouble finding enough recepticles to put it in!

At lunch time Jon went to fetch a piano we had bought for Alfie on Ebay for the ridiculous price of £4.50! Luckily we have a friend who is always happy to give Jon a lift. Again there will be a photo later on.

We went to Aber today and I had some clothes for my birthday. This included underwear and I have to brutally honest that it must be too long since I bought certain items that I could not remember my size!!

Now onto our Airbnb guests. They were just lovely people who thought the room and facilities were fantastic and were thoroughly appreciative of the complementary continental breakfast we gave them on their first morning.

We plan on offering this as an option from now on until we decide to offer cooked breakfasts. 

Now something else. I have lost the photo but the men who Dawn saw carrying the cross came past my house on Friday and then we saw them in Aber on Saturday morning.

And then, of course, Strictly is back on and Bronllan is usually referred to Sequin Central during its run. Loving it already; Tamika is outrageous, loving Anastacia with Brendan and I could go on and on.and on. Eeeeek!

Bye for now.

Lou. xx