Saturday 28 February 2015

My husband's other demanding female

He calls her Daisy. She comes to see him every day .

She gets far more treats than I do!!!

Seedlings making progress

The conservatory is getting very full of the first round of seedlings.
And is getting a bit damp!  Greenhouse is still 3 weeks away so will be juggling in and out on the good days for a while yet. It is so wonderful to have lighter days and the evenings have been very nice here.
Bit disappointed with some germination so have brought some more sweet pea seeds and yet more tomatoes!

Friday 27 February 2015

Welney Wetlands visit

Went with family to explore the wetlands centre where the husband made great use of his expensive telephoto lens.  I loved the sculpture at the entrance.
Taught the grandson (7 months) to write on a blackboard in the education centre in the nice warm observation room.

Tuesday 24 February 2015

Sewing machine choices

My income tax refund has arrived 6 months after retiring from work! I have always promised myself a new sewing machine to make clothes, dresses for my grand daughters and crafts. I wanted something with computerized stitches and some fancy things - my current basic electric one is 20 years old and is not much of a step up from the treadle machine I learnt to sew on!  It does zig zag but it took many tears to get that to work reasonable well on cotton and it is fight on other fabric.

I have visited a local supplier, tried one machine with the kind of complex facilities I dreamed of. I have looked on various sales sites and tried to get to some ideas from people's reviews. Now I am really confused.  I am thinking a Janome 607 or a PFAFF Ambition 1. The long lists of features needs a lot of thought.   But, as they are all imported, at least I can get one off the shelf immediately! (unlike the British made greenhouse we have to wait 4 weeks for).

TXL607
Meanwhile the British Sewing Bee continues to inspire me - especially the make over things!  As for the sheer fabric blouse challenge this week,  I last sewed in chiffon, a vivid green, when making a disco dress for dances at the local youth club in 1968.  But I have a couple of ill fitting ex office blouses in my "can I  make this over" box and I am inspired to re work them into something more modern and useful.

Monday 23 February 2015

Painting challenge

Just been enjoying the latest BBC activity programme,  this time about amateur painters. Really enjoyed this as you could see the different people develop.
Associated with it is a competition to submit a postcard yourself.  Have a look at the BBC website.

Not much happening in our world today as it was cold in the morning and raining in the afternoon. My husband completed the repairs of two fence posts which had rotted.  I cut some firewood then retired to the kitchen to put a casserole in the slow cooker and bake a cake.

A quick look in the fridge confirmed there needs to be an emergency shop for some extra fresh stuff as son, with wife and baby, on way to see us mid week! Slightly upsetting the planning for meals next week but for the potential baby cuddles they are forgiven!

Saturday 21 February 2015

Choosing a green house

When we moved to our current house last year we put by some money for a structural things to help us grow enough fruit and veg to feed ourselves and have enough outbuildings to do" things". Over this winter we are busy putting up a poly tunnel in our field.  My husband is very good at DIY and did once build a greenhouse in wood.  But today we decided time and energy was running out and our crops need to move forward and for him to build a greenhouse as well this Spring would be too much.
We went to chose one  today. Enjoying ourselves popping in and out of the display models we attracted the salesman eventually. In the various properties we had over the 10 years on our journey of developing properties to become mortgage free we had inherited a few greenhouses - all small with low doorways. We have decided in 1940/50 people were smaller!!!  Our thoughts were to get something a little wider than normal - we quite fancy this 8 ft if fitted with double doors.  It is not that high but because of the width it does feel more spacious. Reasonable price and good quality with a good base structure to be firmly planted against Norfolk coastal winds!
After having  a general chat with sales man we went for coffee to study the brochure.  Husband happy he could build in 2 days and use an existing concrete slab within the garden area. All wonderful?  Yes. BUT. How come everything you want like this takes at least 4 weeks to be manufactured in the UK?  I do want to support UK business but its the prime time of year for sales - how come they are not geared up a bit more to give better customer satisfaction?

Elite Belmont Greenhouse

Wednesday 18 February 2015

Eating well (meat) for less

I reviewed the last big shop's meat value before I put together the next shopping list.  I had brought a shoulder of lamb for £7.72 and a (large) chicken for £4.50 for two of us.  From these we had:
Roast lamb and roast veg.
Lamb in a tomato sauce
Lamb rissoles
Lamb curry with mushrooms
Roast chicken and veg
Chicken in bacon in cheese sauce with pasta
Chicken with honey and mustard stew with baked potatoes
Chicken and mushroom curry
Chicken stew with dumplings

That was meat for  9 good meals for 2 people for £11.82. There was absolutely no waste. The bones were used  to add flavour to the last dishes made so I could reduce the amount of stock cubes used.

Tuesday 17 February 2015

Almost a spring day

Beautiful weather with snowdrops shining in the sun.  Having tired of fixing yet more bolts in the next stage of building our poly tunnel and cutting wood we looked round for a distraction. As next door were having their garage roof re felted and there was a tarry smell we decided we may as well have the bonfire and add to the smell. We always check the wind is going to carry any smoke away from the houses first and try not to burn too much as we prefer to compost when possible. The bonfire today was the second heap from cutting back some overgrown buddleia from 2 weeks ago.  It had dried out nicely and roared away once we got it going.  There is something primeval about bonfires is n't there? And the ash is pure wood so will go on the veg garden.

Which reminds me of a story.  My friends say this could only happen to me. Some years ago I was visiting one of those posh north Cotswolds villages as part of my work on a crisp but sunny autumn day. I was a bit lost having had to twist through the back streets to find somewhere to park so asked a passing man where the Library was (where my meeting was scheduled). Kindly he offered to show me the way and in attempt to make conversation  I innocently said what a lovely day for a bonfire to clear the gardens. Icily the nice man said he had worked his whole adult life in a senior government role to bring in smokeless zones to improve air quality and did not approve of bonfires. Opps, I asked about the local recycling centre and went on about green waste till the library door was reached and I gratefully fell into the arms of friendly colleagues with tea and biscuits!

I must take some photos of our seedlings to show you our preparations for spring.

Saturday 14 February 2015

Frugal jeans makeover

Is a makeover or a recycle?
For over 6 years I have had a pair of denim jeans promising myself I would loose the weight and wear them.  Having got down to a size 16 I was disappointed that they still did not fit round the waist. The legs parts were just right in length and width. I was left with two options - take them to a charity shop and pay for another pair or alter these somehow.  I research on U tube altering jeans and it seemed others had inserted a triangle into jeans to solve this problem. So I tried it.
It worked! A bit untidy but I have a wearable pair of jeans for digging the garden and other chores until its warm enough to wear shorts!  No money spent on clothes and another item taken out of the drawers.
Talking of keeping things for years before wearing. I finished the dress this week and realized the buttons were those I had on a red corduroy dress I made in 1975 and wore when pregnant with my first child, who will be 40 next year!



Tuesday 10 February 2015

What a difference in two days

Yesterday we had temperatures in double figures and sun and I got so much extra done (in addition to the normal cleaning and cooking meals). Painted two walls in the dining room (moving furniture included); cultivated the fruit beds to check the weeds; found some more scrap wood and moved it to the shed; took care of some seedlings; cycled to the post box admiring the flush of spring wheat, snowdrops, and not admiring the fly tipping. Supported son in his career crises.  Tried to work out who the baddy is in Broadchurch.

Today we had thick fog and frost and it was much more difficult to get going. Painted some of the artex ceiling, cut one box of firewood for the evening, baked a loaf and hemmed my new dress. Its cold again this evening and now I shall slump in front of the fire with my book - One man and his bike. Man rides round UK over 3 months - I am exhausted and he has not got up Porlock hill yet!

Sunday 8 February 2015

Wonky waistline

I was frustrated by my current sewing project. I had changed my pattern to lengthen the sleeves and replace the gored panel skirt with a gathered skirt and was trying to introduce some colour by inserting a band of red at the bottom of the bodice. It didn't work and the waist line was wonky and wobbly (as Patrick and May on the Sewing Bee would say).
Ah well, back to the drawing board and take the whole waist out and start again.  Perhaps I will jsut buy a red belt.  Then, Ouch - burnt three finger tips on the iron straightening the fabric again.

Saturday 7 February 2015

Inspired by Big Allotment Challenge to try a new plant

Having watched the final challenges of the 2015 series we were discussed the Cape Gooseberry crop late last night and decided we had never heard of it! Then this morning when sowing some more seeds we came across a packet of Inca Berries from James Wong's Home Revolution range in the box and realized these were the same thing!   Another treasure from the free giveaways from when I used to have a magazine subscription but no time to garden.

Apparently they are quite a hardy plant and the berries keep for 3 months in the fridge! They make nice jam and Mrs Beeton even had a recipe for them.

I am quite getting to like the Big Allotment Challenge and was quite sad to see in slated in this week's Saturday's Telegraph who compared it unfavorably to Bake Off. But then I never watched the first 3 series of Bake Off as I did not think it was very good at the time, and I am sure the production of the gardening programme will improve just like that did.

Thursday 5 February 2015

First seeds

My first seedlings of the year - some tomato seeds from an old packet.   I think the packet was free with my gardening magazine last year!


Cheap bird scarers

I have found this trick works quite well keeping birds off early seeds and strawberries.  Buy some cheap fruit pies at the supermarket and keep the silver cups they come in.  Poke a hole the base and then tie them in twos to some garden string.  Hung on canes over the seed beds they rattle nicely.  I have some ready for the spring.

Wednesday 4 February 2015

Bargain buy

I had to go to the bank today just to pay in a cheque so decided to treat myself to a sewing magazine which had a nice free pattern.  It included a pattern for trousers which I had been thinking about as I don't have enough for the summer. I then was tempted into the fabric shop (it really is an addiction!) but today there was a rack of fabrics reduced to £1.50 a metre!  I found just over 2 mts of a nice green twill cotton just right for some summer trousers for £3.60!

Tuesday 3 February 2015

Menu planning for Feb

I have just done my fortnightly shop on line for delivery tomorrow (£65 in groceries)  for a £1 charge. Lots better than going across to the far side of Kings Lynn in the snow!
I have decided to order a shoulder of lamb and a whole chicken for the next fortnight as I felt the bits and pieces of meat brought last time came to more than the £15 I had set as the meat budget.

I have done some internet researches on recipes and using my standard range of shopping/ingredients, and store cupboard, I should be able to cook any four of the following dishes depending on how far the £7.50 kg worth of meat stretches -

  • Roast Lamb rubbed in rosemary and garlic with roasted swede, carrots and potatoes (all in one dish)
  • Braised lamb in a tomato sauce (will do in slow cooker)
  • Lamb stew with flageolot beans and tomatoes
  • Rissoles (middle eastern flavoured with ground cumin and ground coriander seasoning)
  • Sheppard's Pie
Just in case Plan A gets disrupted and if I don't have time one day to cook from scratch I have a jar of curry sauce in the standby cupboard! Network people have still not renewed the poles in the lane so we are expecting to get cut off all day one day this week.

I will do an internet search and look for some new ideas of what to do with the chicken.  I have a set of usual dishes but I like to be inspired by ideas from elsewhere!
My big gripe on extra shopping this week was the husband's razor blades - £7.50!! I think a beard is acceptable,,,,,,,