Making the most of the weather

 Last Sunday we decided to return to Clent.  Make the most of the weather and drink in the wonderful views.  Of course, we had to start off with some fuel inside us.  A bacon sandwich to beat all other bacon sandwiches ever, from the very popular Nimmings Cafe.  Really, for a January weekend I wouldnt have thought an outdoors cafe would have much trade, but it was busier than ever!

 Sophie did so well, walking off on adventures with her brothers for the whole time we were out, (until blisters stopped her)  And her brothers were so good at accommodating her in their adventures, even if it did mean they had to go very slowly.

 This time we remembered the drinks!

 My favourite moment.

 We had adventures with dragons, found the ideal spot for a hobbit hole, and had some lovely family time in the incredibly balmy January weather.

And so I have continued to make the most of the weather.  And managed an hour and a half down the allotment today.  I tried to find the wasps nest in the compost bin, but to no avail, but hopefully they will not return to it now.  I then got tired of pulling bindweed out of the strawberry patch, so moved on to clearing some beds.  Nearly finished one bed, I reckon we'll put pumpkins and courgettes in here, nice and sunny, and should be easy to dig in plenty of manure.

 Also pulled some parsnips to see how they had done (they were late going in, so wasn't expecting much.)  I guess they were a bit bigger than I anticipated, if a little curly! Also pulled the remainind carrots, not a single one was edible, eaten by I'm not sure what, but lots of little tunnels in the root.  So that's it, I'm done with carrots, I admit defeat!  Instead I will focus on growing more of the things we are good at growing, like beans, strawberries, onions etc.

Apparently the good weather is to continue this week, so I'll be out on my bike I hope, and also see if I can squeeze another allotment trip in there somewhere (if I'm not aching too much after that first trip down there for a good couple of months!)

Feeling Frugal

 A trip to the allotment this afternoon gave me this haul!  I had an hour down there, and the whole hour I was harvesting things (there were three plums and a strawberry too, but they got eaten by a certain fruit monster that accompanied me!)  Luke asked me this afternoon how much the allotment cost for the year.  It's £30, and this was really brought home to me today what a saving it is, as we are growing things organically, compare just todays haul with the organic fruit box and veg box we got delivered today for the same price as a year at the allotment!  So not only was I feeling pleased with myself for the amount of produce brought home today (especially given the neglect the allotment has suffered this year), but also very pleased about the money saved.

Combine this with a lovely trip to a charity shop this morning.  Sophie was at pre-school (she has settled in amazingly well!) and I was due to meet up with a friend for us to do some crocheting, however it was such a lovely day she suggested we walk up to this charity shop.  Well, I found some real treasures, a basket of crochet cotton (basket and all!), more cotton thread of the variegated kind, a skirt, jigsaw puzzle and some books, all for £5!

A lovely day from start to finish!

Indescision and a birthday

I tried to impose a month long ban on myself from using the computer, which lasted all of about 4 days!  My will power is shocking!!  I enjoyed having some time just to read and craft, but the need to interact with people is obviously rather strong, and with children who are thoroughly enjoying being at home and not wanting to go out anywhere, I figure the computer does serve a purpose.  The reason for my ban was to give myself some headspace, lots of things going on that I didn't want to be part of, and lots of things happening at home that I did want to be part of!  The few days that I was away did do me some good, perhaps I was being a bit harsh on myself to deny something I enjoy for a whole month, but I do need to look at how the computer seems to creep into my life all too insidiously, and before I know it, it has taken over!!

We had the second birthday of August on Monday.  (We have four birthdays in total in 5 weeks starting from the beginning of August!)  I like to play down this one, a sign I am getting older!  Had some lovely books by Thich Naht Han, and some circular wooden knitting needles, and some bamboo straight needles.  So all I need now is a month or so to secrete myself away and read and knit to my hearts content!!

For a few years now I have wanted to visit Kinver Edge, so the trip out for my birthday was to see the rock houses there. Unfortunately the rock houses weren't open to the public on the Monday, but we were able to see them from outside, and the boys were once again talking about hobbit holes!!  Apparently 11 families lived here, and the last one moved out in 1967.  The National Trust have restored them, how wonderful to have been able to live in one of these.

 There was plenty of moorland and woodland to explore too.

A lovely birthday topped off with a trip to the Harvester restaurant, not as relaxing as it might have been with Sophie in tow, as she was not in the slightest bit interested in sitting down to eat (until it came to ice cream sundaes!)

I have been umming and ahhing about the allotment too.  Whether I can realistically keep it going.  The children don't like going down there, and my first visit was the other week for well over a month, what with all the coming and goings we've had happening.  Is it realistic to be able to run a household with four children in it and keep an allotment?  Each year I vow that this year will be different, I will dedicate more time to it, but every year, life seems to get in the way.  Whether it be illness, weather, or stubborn children, I never seem to manage more than a trip a week, if that.  This season will not be our best, I know that, but I will wait and see how much I can do in the lull period once Sophie has started pre-school.  Hopefully then I can really get my teeth stuck into it, but if it doesn't work out, perhaps I will have to admit defeat.  A shame when I really do enjoy it, but I suppose only time will tell.

Allotment days

 The lovely warm weather has meant that I am able to get down the allotment a little more reliably.  The other day I managed to get the peas sown, and used the twigs from the Rowan tree we cut down last year.  Sophie very kindly watered the peas on this trip down to the allotment.

 This last year was the first time we grew purple sprouting with any seriousness, and it is coming to fruition now, with some lovely sproutings close to being ready to harvest.  I am amazed how much patience we have needed to have with this crop, sown this time last year, and only really producing now.  We lost quite a few plants over the winter too, but the plants we have left look good and strong, so fingers crossed we will have an ok crop.

 The spinach overwintered well, and I am looking forward to regular pickings from here.

 I usually try to time my visits to the allotment when Sophie is tired, and will have a sleep.  She associates the allotment with a time to have a breastfeed!  Anyhow, this Monday when we went down, she wasn't quite as tired as I thought, she helped out a bit, and then came and watched me trying to uproot a very stubborn tayberry plant!  Whilst doing that I found some snails, and introduced Sophie to them.  Now, Sophie is rather scared of any creepy crawlies, which I have found quite frustrating, as there are so many around, and quite curious, as no-one else is so I don't know where this fear has come from!  Snails were a good introduction though, as they move so slowly.  She found some grass to give them, and watched as they peeped out of their shells.  We also found lots of worms, but she wasn't so taken with them!  Slowly, slowly, and hopefully we'll get there!

We've had the wildest patch of the plot under carpet for a good 18 months now, and this is where the potatoes are going to go this year.  So I also made a start on uprooting the remaining stubborn weeds (mainly dock!), Going to have to be quick though as the potatoes are busily chitting away!

Finally I noticed that the blackcurrant bushes have a bad case of "big bud".  This is where the leaves do not develop properly, and can harbour a mite which lives within the bud, and can carry a disease which affects the plant, and reduces the crop.  Last year we had this a little, and I pruned out the affected branches, we still had a decent crop of blackcurrants.  However, this year the bushes are extensively affected.  I will have to cut it back severely and see if that sorts the problem out.  However, I fear that the crop this year will be compromised.  There is no treatment for this that I am aware of, but should anyone know any different, I would love to hear it!

I am loving this time of year, things aren't too manic yet, and I feel we are making headway.  You never know, this year we may actually get the whole plot being productive!!

Mama Made Monday - drumstick bag

Since Christmas I have been wanting to make a drumstick bag for Luke to be able to put his sticks in. I have eventually managed to make it for his Birthday tomorrow, it only took half a day, so why it took since Christmas to get my act together I don't know! There are three pockets for drumsticks on the front, and then that flash of red is the lining for the back pocket where he can store his music. It has a flap that covers all this, fixed with a press-stud, and strap on the back to sling it over his shoulder when going out and about. I hope he likes it. And on a completely unrelated note, just look at the produce of 1 1/2 hours harvesting down the lottie today! I'm really pleased with the potatoes, very little damage to them, and some good roasters there! The winter purple sprouting is sprouting already, and we got our first sweetcorn cob today too! More apples and plums, the last of the onions, one courgette, and a bag full of runner beans (courtesy of a neighbouring plot holder who had too much for her needs!)

I am not even going to start thinking as to what to do with it all at the moment, the focus for tomorrow will be Luke, and his 12th birthday.

A mish mash of things

Last week Luke was away with the school, doing all the things he loves doing such as abseiling, rock climbing, zip wire, King swing, quad biking etc. It was an incredibly long week for us at home, and we were hoping that it was zipping by for Luke, and that he was a having a great time. Unfortunately the social side of it let him down, spending that long with class mates was a bit too much for Luke, and he came home vowing never to go anywhere again without Mum and Dad! It has set him back with school too. I think friendships is the only reason he goes to school, and now he doesn't even see that as a particular lure The request for home-schooling has begun again, but I am really not sure how realistic that would be. The summer holidays can not come quick enough, and hopefully he can have some time to relax without thinking about the trivialities of school.

As for the rest of us, Sophie had her first ride on the back of my bike. It was lovely to get back on it, but I will need to build up my fitness levels a bit! We went foraging for Elderflowers to make some cordial. More strawberries picked, along with some redcurrants and raspberries. But unfortunately it would seem the extra security measures at the allotment have not been enough to deter the vandals, and they got in at the weekend pulling up whatever they could find. Fortunately for us it was only the remainder of the garlic, which was ready to be pulled anyway, but others lost young plants to the thugs :(

Alec is off on his first cub camp this coming weekend, so I hope he has a great time. And we are getting together camping gear for our first venture into camping with children. We've bought a 6 berth tent which is so enormous the bag for the canvas has wheels on it!! Hopefully this will be the start of many adventures, once I can get past the erecting of the tent whilst keeping tabs on a certain young lady who will leg it at the slightest opportunity! But that's what older children are for, right?!

I feel rather humbled to have received a number of blog awards recently. I will do a seperate post about those when I can sit and think! In the meantime I have some jam to make, and possibly some redcurrant rum!

Apologies...

... for not blogging for a while. Life seems so full of living at the moment, I scarcely have time to acknowledge what we are up to before life moves on to the next thing!

Alec and Ethan swam 50metres and 5 metres respectively the other week. Luke faced disappointment in that his swimming style was not up to scratch to gain his 2000m, but he is dealing with it, and is going to keep at it.

The allotment is taking up alot of time, which is lovely as it is so relaxing, and a wonderful allotment neighbour has been helping out on the plot, as Mum pulled her back the other week, and Sophie is not keen on helping much! Although I did find her sat in one of the potato trenches trying to bury her legs earlier today!!

Sophie has also discovered the "off" switch on my computer, which really is a good thing, as she has far greater influence over me than my own will power!!

I've held a fairtrade coffee morning, which was a lovely event. I am now hoping to arrange a summer fair to support local mums who have little side-lines and give them an opportunity to publicise themselves, but also to raise some money for Breast Cancer Awareness. A dear friend is fighting this at the moment. Her children are the same ages as my older three, but she is single. She is being so strong, I don't know where she finds her strength, she really is an inspiration.

I have so many projects I want to do, and keep getting books to read too, but I get about 1/2 an hour in the evening, before I fall asleep to do something! Therefore things are on a "go slow!!"

I am looking forward to meeting up with some parents from the Green Parent forum at the end of the month, assuming Sophie doesn't come down with chickenpox, as she was exposed to it on the day of the coffee morning. And we also have a wedding to go to soon. I was hoping to have made a skirt to wear for it, but unless a miracle happens I can't see that happening in time!!

There has been plenty more of general life happening, and I am grateful for the ordinariness of it all. What a priviledge it is to just live, in comfort, with happy children and a happy husband. I really am very lucky.

My kind of week!

Apart from the children returning to school, this has been a lovely week. Lots of little things that have really made it wonderful.

We started off, as did the rest of Europe, with plane-less skies, and it was so lovely to see such a vibrant blue sky unspoilt by contrails.

Our breastfeeding group moved locations, and we still got new people coming, which was great, as I had quite imagined that people would be confused as to where it was. This was followed with meeting up with a dear friend on her due date to go for a walk, a priviledge to share a portion of the last few days before she meets number 4. Birthing vibes coming your way Jo!

And we eventually sorted out for Alec to go to a scalextric club he has been wanting to go to for the last 6 months! His first day was Monday, and he really enjoyed himself, a little boys dream, 6 lanes of racing on a track that fills a barn!!

Tuesday, Thursday and Friday I managed some time down the allotment. Planted the last of the spuds, did some more weeding, watering, and alot of breastfeeding! I'm sure that's why Sophie gets so excited about the allotment, she thinks the sole reason we are there is to feed, feed, feed!

I have decided to revamp our diets, trying very hard to introduce way more veggies, and more meat-less meals (especially for me!) We made nettle fritters with nettles and eggs fresh from the garden, and I have started sprouting seeds to add to salad, but am having trouble remembering to rinse them at the moment. Does anyone know if it is still ok to use them if you have missed a rinsing?

Saturday, Stuart discovered there was a food festival in a local town, so we went to investigate, as Stuart's favourite beer (made by a local brewery, Purity) was being combined with local pork to make Ubu sausages, which he was determined to try! So after a lovely wander through the streets of Alcester, munching of a falafel wrap (for me) and pork and stuffing baps for the others! We discovered the sausages! We also came across some morris dancers. Luke's comment was "surely they must be drunk to do that!" However, Sophie enjoyed bopping along to the olde english music!

On our return home, we took out an enormous laurel bush (actually 12 smaller ones conjoined into one big green mass). We had been meaning to do this for years, but took the plunge yesterday. Luke was not impressed, so has planted one of the root balls in the pot the Christmas tree used to inhabit, to see if it will survive! Our plan is to make a flower garden, cottage garden-esque.

To top this off we had a barbeque with the said sausages and homemade bread rolls. A lovely end to a lovely week.

My little helper

She does just love to "help". She has been unloading the compost, I've been putting into trugs ready to take down the allotment, with her hands.

She has also been "helping" strip the wall paper from what will be her room, but more often than not, as I have been sat on the floor she has taken the opportunity for a little snack! Good job I can multi-task!

Autumn down the plot

I have decided I'm going to try to be far more organised with the allotment this next year. Starting with recording what is going where etc.

Today I have planted 50 red onion sets, 50 Japanese Onion sets, and 3 bulbs of garlic. All in the bed that had the new potatoes in this last year. More fortunate than by planning but apparently alliums follow on nicely from potatoes. There is space for one more row of something, so perhaps come the spring we can add some spring onions to the allium bed.

The runner beans are dug up, and the plums we cannot reach on the tree are now past their best, so will be left for the birds! We still have LOADS of cooking apples to come, but again they are out of reach, and are not falling with a good shake of the tree, so I will have to be a little more patient!

We have alot of tidying up to do. My to do list for the autumn/winter period is:
Pot the runners from the strawberries and thin the strawberry bed
Clear the calendula when it has stopped flowering, and perhaps collect a few more seeds
Finish clearing the top plot, and move the raspberry canes to the far end
Lay a couple more paths
Plant broad beans to overwinter.
And LOTS more clearing!

Should keep me busy for a while!

A mish mash of things

Apart from the ongoing saga of my parents-in-law (MIL back in hospital with a racing heart), what else has been happening this week?

We had the boys returning to school. They have all settled in ok, although Luke had some teething problems with his rather strict form teacher. When will they learn that to gain a child's respect you have to respect them, not dominate them or strike the fear of god into them?

Mum, bless her, has been down the allotment regularly harvesting what is ready. We have maincrop potatoes coming in now, along with more runner beans, cooking apples, plums, a bit of purple sprouting, we had to pull all the carrots and they were riddled with carrot root fly, but we were able to salvage some. And we should have had some lovely sweetcorn, we'd just been waiting for it to plump up, and when Mum went to harvest it at the weekend she found some vandals had beaten her to it, and have destroyed some plants, strewn the ripe cobs around which have subsequently been eaten by local wildlife, and we are left with a few cobs which are not ripe, but, fingers crossed, will come to something later. It has been a regular occurrence on the site, but the first time we have been hit. Hopefully the instilation of high, locked gates will help deter the trouble makers. Only time will tell.

I have managed to add to my jam store with damson jam and plum and apple jam, which will hopefully help to make up some jam hampers for Christmas, hopefully I'll be adding quince and blackberry to this. As far as Christmas goes I've also made a start on some longies for Sophie, it will take me til Christmas to get them done, as she seems attracted to the needles!

Stuart is planning to go back to work this next week, his recouperation has not been as restful as we would have hoped, but he has put a very brave face on it all.

Things to remember for next year...

Indulge me for a moment, if I write this down on a piece of paper I will have lost it by next year, so I thought this would be the safest place.

Need to plant more peas, more broad beans, more onions, more tomatoes, more spinach.

Need to remember to plant beetroot, garlic, lettuce, spring onions, sunflowers.

Plant chamomile, echinacea, st.john's wort, and other such herbs.

Remember to plant things out sooner, rather than waiting for them to get bigger in little pots, it does not happen!

Do things with the stuff you have picked, and if you don't have time then give it away!

Think about winter crops before it's too late to do anything about it!

This allotment has definitely been a steep learning curve, and one day in the very distant future I WILL have one of those nicely kept allotments, not one where you can't see the crops for the weeds!

A good week

What a week! Glorious weather, the boys now have a healthy glow about them after looking so pale for all of winter. Alec has had a school trip to a local farm, which he enjoyed, but I think he would have preferred there to be some animals there. Ethan and Luke were a bit reluctant to return to school, with Luke even suggesting home-schooling. However, a week into it, and they all seem to have enjoyed themselves. We had a trip to a toy shop yesterday as the boys had some money to spend. It was a credit to them that they didn't fall for all the horrid cheap plasticky stuff, and even though they what they did buy was still plastic (lego, and nerf guns) they have not stopped playing with them, to the point that at 11 o'clock last night I had to ask them to go to bed, as I was tired, and they were up at 6.30am to continue playing with them!!

Sophie has achieved things herself this week. She has her first tooth, is now crawling properly, rather than a combination of bunny hops and combat crawling, and she was in the newspaper with her woolly knickers (as Stuart likes to call them) helping to promote real nappy week!

Well, what have I done this week, with the house back to myself (and Sophie, of course!)? I've been down the allotment of course! I alwas find this time of year a bit awkward, as I am torn between being outside, or continue being inside doing all the jobs needed to keep us just about ticking over!

It has to be a strategic visit, timed around Sophie's sleeps, as she doesn't like me bending over whilst she is in the sling, even when on my back, and there aren't that many jobs to be done down on the plot at the moment that can be done stood upright all the time. This week we have finished the raised bed, and planted the carrots (Autumn King), but no space left for my purple carrots :( . We have dug over some of the bottom plot which had been undercover for the last year, after being rotovated last spring and it was clear of everything, so in went the maincrop potatoes (Desiree). We have pruned out bits of "big bud" on the blackcurrant bushes, which are looking like they will provide a bumper crop, despite not being pruned last year...mmm.. more blackcurrant sorbet! We have planted the peas (although I can't remember what type!), and manured trenches for the runner beans. Finally we had our last bonfire before the growing season really starts. There are many more things that need to be done, and I'm not sure I want to list them all, as I would find it rather depressing, but needless to say I am feeling very optimistic about this season, as it is feasible that we could stay on top of it all, and get some good stuff out of it this year. By the way, if anyone wants some purple sprouting, I have plenty of seedlings!!!

To top off the feelings of self-sufficiency, Hetty laid the most enormous egg, it is at least a double yoker, and nearly fills my hand! And I'm hoping Betty will start laying again soon, after a broody spell. Although looking at her earlier, in the rain, she was throwing straw over her back, which was very comical, looking as if she was either attempting to camoflague herself, or protect herself from the rain!!

Catching up again!

I can't even remember how much has happened since my last post! However, I have finished Sophie's dress, and it even fits her! However, I still haven't mastered the camera, I will get there I promise! I have also been busy making a knitting roll for mothers day, a bag and purse for a friends daughter, little knitted chicks and rabbits to put a small egg in for Easter gifts for the boys friends. And each time I make something I think "I should take a photo of that" and then forget about it until it is too late, and it is given away. I do wonder about myself at times, I've never been particularly organised, but lately things really are getting out of hand. I just need more time....

The children have been enjoying the holidays, with playing with friends, and the occasional trip out. We had a lovely day at the allotment last week, and managed to pretty much clear the bottom plot, which included having to dig up about 4 plum saplings, and brambles that were at least two inches thick at the base! So now we have some extra space to plant some more crops. Stuart has an idea for growing some hops, as he fancies beer brewing from scratch. Well even if we don't get as far as the beer brewing, I can imagine a few doorways adorned with dried hops!

We had a trip out to Mary Ardens house and farm near Stratford, which was lovely. Alec had the chance to do some falconry with a common buzzard, and they all had a go at splitting logs, threshing and winnowing, as well as an Easter treasure hunt. Amongst all this was the learning of what life was like for Tudors, and everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves. In May they have a week on sheep, and I'm hoping the chance to do some spinning of wool, we'll have to go back just to see!

Another day out was to the Brecon Beacons. Stuart had been wanting to do some hill walking, so Easter Monday we set out early (for us!) and reached the Brecon Beacons by lunch time. We found a sign post to some waterfalls, and decided to explore. It was fantastic, with so many waterfalls coming down the hill, the boys were in their element, and we even found pools of frogspawn, which Ethan was very enthusiastic about. A picnic by the stream ensued, along with some rather wet feet from stepping on stepping stones, and missing! It would have been perfect if it were not for all the other people who were there too, there was us thinking we were off the beaten track, but not so. Is there anywhere in this country where you can truly get away from it all? We then continued to climb some unknown hill. With Sophie in the back pack it was pretty hard going (she seems so much heavier in that than in the sling!) Luke and I were the only ones to make it to the top of the cwm, after having to scrabble over copper laden rocks to reach the boggy moorland at the top. We returned to the others waiting below with red cheeks after such a climb, but a great sense of achievement. I think we have finally found a family activity that we all get something out of, next step camping!

Plans for Christmas

I can't believe we are already thinking about Christmas. I am just starting on my list if things to make for people, with some french knitting to make a mobile of flowers and butterflies for Sophie. Also going to be making a couple of sets of bean bags, along with a special bag for Ethan who likes to fill bags with "special" things. For years I have been collecting corks from wine bottles in order to make either a notice board or some heatproof mats, I think the time is now here for me to be making these!

I'm hoping that I will get all of this done, along with the quince jam (which is doing as I type!) and a few coffee mornings etc to sell fairtrade products. What a busy time!

The boys break up from school today, and are in desperate need of half term. I think they find there are just too many things they want to do in too short a time (just like their parents!) so to have a week to do exactly what they want will be much appreciated by all. Hopefully we will fit in a trip to the allotment, along with some pumpkin carving!

Speaking of the allotment, it looks like we have a fantastic crop of parsnips. The foliage had been looking very good, but I had been warned by a fellow allotment holder that the foliage does not necessarily indicate how the root is doing. However, on digging up three parsnips we have some enormous specimens (not particularly pretty ones, as they have forked, but massive none the less!) Just got to convince the boys that they like parsnips! Perhaps some parsnip crisps will do the job!