All our bags are packed, we're ready to go ....

Whew!  We've made it - bags packed, birthday pressie in post, jacket revamped, painting finished and all children spoken to.  Just the hoover to push round the lounge, the kitchen floor given a quick wash, and the bathroom freshened up in the morning and we're good to go.  My mammoth list is full of ticks and tasks completed and crossed through - I seem to work much better if there's lots to do.  Despite the occasional moment of panic, we've accomplished such a lot in a very short space of time.  

Peas

Beans

N's been busy planting the seedlings in the garden (fingers crossed that it'll be frost-free while we're away) and many other garden-related things.

We have a min/max thermometer in our greenhouse; this was the reading yesterday afternoon.  96.8 degrees Fahrenheit is hot!  It was very pleasantly warm sat out on the decking, but not quite that hot.  

This daffodil makes me happy just looking at it - it's such a lovely golden yellow

The little cupcake wall-hanging I made for my 'almost' DIL is based on a pattern, designed by Maggie Wise, that I found in an old Fabrications quilting magazine I had.  

The finished hanging

It's made entirely from scraps I had, and I'm so pleased with the result.  N says he wants one for our kitchen ;-).  Although the pattern shows the border made from fabric strips sewn and cut into squares, I've 'cheated' and used a scrap of fabric printed with squares - it seemed absolutely ideal, and has worked a treat, especially the pretty pastel colours.  I've done machine and hand quilting, and embellished the cupcakes with embroidery and beads.  It was fun to do, and is a present for someone who rather likes cupcakes, both making them and eating them.  Well, I think these look almost good enough to eat, too.  

The jacket needs a quick press before I take a photo - will try to do that first thing tomorrow.  

And a nod to John Denver, still one of my all-time favourite singers, for the post title.

Panic stations!!

It's a bit of a whirl here at the moment.  Yesterday we booked a holiday - and we go on Saturday.  No panic, all under control (not!)  We're going on a cruise to the Canaries, Portugal and Madeira.  

How does cruising fit in with the idea of a simple life?  Well, I see people choosing to live the simple life that suits them, where and when that may be.  Some people are able (and want) to lead sustainable, self-sufficient lives, others may make small changes to their lives, some want to 'go green'.  For us, we have slowed down and now appreciate life far more.  We are mindful how we spend money, we certainly don't waste it, and we are not tempted by the materialistic consumerism that is all around us.  We try to grow some of our vegetables, we cook from scratch whenever possible, and we try not to waste unnecessarily.  We mend and repair, and use whatever skills we have around the home.  We do what we can and what we feel comfortable doing, and we are happy with our choices and decisions.

Having said that, we also believe that when opportunities come along, they should be taken.  We both enjoy travelling - it's in N's blood - and we both acknowledge that the time may come when we are not able to travel as much as we can at present.  N has worked long and hard to save for his retirement, and I always knew that travelling would be part of that retirement, and that's absolutely fine with me.  Because the cruise is last-minute, the price was a bargain.  So we are packing.  We have cruised before, and find it a wonderful way of seeing many different countries, and experiencing varying cultures and sights.

So I've now got a very long list of things that have to be done by Saturday.  I'm like a woman possessed!  Frantic is a word that springs to mind.  I'm still trying to finish the undercoating in the hallway (just a doorframe to go, but I think the newel posts would benefit from a second coat, as they take a lot of wear and tear), and that's not a job that can be rushed.  I'm trying to finish a wall-hanging for my future DIL's birthday (Sunday).  I've been looking for a casual jacket for a while now, and found one today in one of the charity shops for a good price, but the sleeves need shortening and I want to brighten the jacket up with different buttons and maybe a big colourful flower, and perhaps some braid on the pockets.  So that's another job to be done as I'd quite like to take it away with me.  There's still the house to be cleaned (just in case we have a viewing, lol), bags to be packed and a million and one other things.  Like I said, no panic at all =:-o.  

Oh, and I managed to bake some shortbread biscuits this afternoon, and judging by that fact that only half are left, I guess they passed N's taste test!

The recipe for these biscuits is so simple - 6oz flour, 4oz marg/butter and 2 oz castor sugar.  Just cream the marg and sugar together in a bowl, then add the flour and mix together with a spatula until it forms a stiff dough.  Turn out onto a floured surface.  Usually I roll the dough out and use a cutter to make the biscuits, but this time I rolled the dough into a sausage, and sliced rounds off, about 1/4 inch thick.  Then I rolled each slice flat to about 5cm diameter (sorry for the mix and match of measurements!) - this way, I didn't have any offcuts to keep rolling out over and over; all the dough was used straightaway.  Place on a greased baking tray and bake in oven at 180 degrees C, Gas No 3-4, until golden brown.

The veggie garden

I remembered to take my camera into the garden yesterday to take some photos of the seedlings.  Everything is behind, in growing terms, because of the prolonged bad weather.  Even now, the soil is still very cold, and there was a frost again the night before last, so we're hesitant about planting too much out quite yet.  What we are doing is moving the seedlings from the house to the greenhouse, and getting them aclimatised that way.

Runner beans in various stages - looks like we could be in for a bumper crop this year

Pea seedlings

Tomatoes

The only cucumber to germinate - still indoors

Yes, those blue things are slug pellets, sorry :-(.   We have struggled so much  in the past with slugs eating all our tender little seedlings, we have to resort to drastic action.

We bought a bag of salad potatoes a little while ago, and some began to chit.  Not wanting them to go to waste, N has been nurturing them along, and at the weekend he planted some of them out into one of our raised beds (we have 4, but only 3 are for vegetables; I have flowers in the other).  The netting is a deterent to the local cats who do enjoy digging in newly turned soil.

In one of the other beds, N has put up some netting for the peas.  It's the first time we've tried growing peas, and we're eager to see how they do.  Against the fence is a sturdier trellis for the runner beans.  

We've also sown spinach and carrots, but so far nothing to show.  Hopefully the warmer weather over the past few days may be an encouragement to the seeds.

Doesn't this salad look delicious?  We are hoping we will be able to be eating our own home-grown leaves, tomatoes and cucumber later in the summer.  In the meantime, I will simply enjoy and appreciate N's ability to produce such a beautiful-looking plate of food - it was very tasty, too!

And finally, in between the painting, which is becoming a bit of a labour of love, I have a new project on the go.  I'm hoping it will go together quickly, as it has to be in the post by Friday - no pressure then ;-)

Blue skies and sunshine

Shorts and T-shirt weather!  Doesn't take much for us to get the sun chairs out on the decking and soak up the sun.  I remembered the suncream :)

We sat doing puzzles and sudoku, just enjoying the heat and being outside.  We listened to the birds singing; they seemed to be as pleased to see the sun as we were.  It was a very relaxing couple of hours.

So just a short post this evening.  I will try to remember some photos of the beginnings of the veg garden tomorrow.

Preparing to decorate . . . and some great finds

In the garden the grape hyacinths (muscari) I rescued from DIL's garden a few weeks' ago have  finally flowered.

There was a lot of this yesterday (that's blue sky and sunshine!)  so we spent some time sitting out in the garden soaking up the much-appreciated warmth, and looking forward to many more to come

I had a really productive day yesterday.  I finished off all the sanding I had to do, although I spent almost as much time hoovering and washing down the woodwork afterwards as I did actual sanding.  I have always adhered to the belief that preparation is essential to ensure a good end result, so I take time to do each step to the best of my ability, even if the dust gets everywhere and the wood looks worse before it looks better!  I think it's worth the time and effort.  I am realising, however, just how much painting there is to do over the coming days  :-o.

I'm feeling really chuffed with my charity shop finds.  Two skirt lengths.  One is a metre length of a wool mix 150cm wide originally priced as a remnant at £3.59, the other is a 1.5m length of 90cm printed cotton, also a remnant priced at £4.49.  I bought both pieces for the princely sum of £2.50.  I am very happy :))  Both require washing and I think there may be a bit of damage to the cotton fabric where it has been stapled together, but I am confident I can salvage enough to make good use of it.

Our meal last night was just delicious, and looked so good I'd eaten half of it before I thought of taking a photo!  It was a Mediterranean vegetable fish stew with red onion and leek risotto rice, all made from scratch by my in-house chef, and we both agreed it was one of the best meals we've had for a very long time.  Definitely one to remember.

Back to a list

After another couple of days struggling to keep focussed, I did the sensible thing today and not only wrote a list, but stuck with it.  I planned the order (well, sort of) and ticked items off as they were completed.  It's the sense of achievement that seems to act as motivation to keep going.  Other thoughts may try to crowd my mind, but I was quite determined to get things done, and I did.  

The bed was changed; I made a lovely red onion and leek quiche; I finished sanding all the staircase spindles in the hallway (and the dust just gets everywhere!); I washed some dusters I bought on the market 'up north' for a project I later found they were not really suitable for; I ordered some tickets; I did the hoovering and I washed another winter coat.  Yay!!  Lots of ticks :-)

It was lovely and sunny most of the day, and incredibly windy too, so the washing was completely dry when I bought it in.

We had a walk into town to post the letter and I had a quick browse in some of the charity shops.  There were a couple of lengths of fabric hanging amongst the sheets and curtains, so I need to pop back in tomorrow to acquire them ;).

I have a list all ready for tomorrow - I've been sensible and not made it too long because a couple of the tasks will take me most of the morning to complete.  

N's not been too well today, he's had a really bad headache all day.  I know he's feeling stressed about some recent issues and I really want some resolution for all of us.

Now the clocks have gone forward for British Summer Time (that happened 31 March) the evenings are light until gone 8 o'clock, which is great.  The sunset last night was so pretty, and tonight the clouds came in just as the sun was going down.  It doesn't seem so long ago that it was dark by 4 o'clock!

Nature reserve walk

I've been meaning to post some photos of our walk on Monday, and as it is now Wednesday (how did that happen?), I really must do it.

This time, we headed along the coastal road and enjoyed the sea air.  There is a small nature reserve we have visited several times, and we spent some time in the bird hide there, just watching the activity on the water.

The view from the hide

This Grey Heron looks to be standing guard

Bar-tailed Godwit (we think) 

Mute Swan

We spied this lone duck on the beach, but we're not sure what it is.  The white patch is distinctive but we haven't been able to identify it yet.

The mysterious duck is on the right-hand side, close to the water's edge

Bunny trying to hide!!

N has been busy potting up the seeds that we've germinated indoors and on the window sills.  I'll try to have a round up of what's growing at the weekend.  

I've been spending a bit of time every day sanding and preparing the woodwork in the communal area, prior to undercoating and glossing.  I just do a little every day - by the time I've sanded, washed down and hoovered up, a little takes quite a time.


I've also started washing the winter coats and jackets, taking advantage of the warmer temperatures and quite windy conditions.  So far I've done three jackets and two gilets, and will try to get a couple more done tomorrow.

This last photo is another mystery bird.  It's obviously a duck, but the markings don't seem to fit with any of the recognisable breeds.  However, it does have the very distinctive curled tail feathers of a male Mallard, and as the always-reliable RSPB Pocket Birds book (Jonathan Elphick and John Woodward) does mention that Mallard plumage can be variable due to interbreeding with domestic ducks, we think that is what is must be.

A visit to the pigs

Ssshh!  I need to say this very quietly - I think Spring may be on it's way at last.  Yesterday and today the sun shone and temperatures got up into double figures.  No idea how long it will last but we have been out and about making the most of it.

Yesterday we went for the walk I had hoped to do on my birthday, but couldn't due to wind and rain all day.  We walked to Quarr Abbey, via woodlands and fields, and it was lovely.  Signs of Spring all around us.

Celandines and delicate wood anenomies gleamed in the sunlight.

Views across the ruins to the Solent

The real purpose of the walk was to visit the Abbey pigs ;).  I had been to see them during the winter when it snowed.  Then they were all out, having a great time in the mud and slush.  Yesterday just one was having a wander, but it was very friendly and came to say hello - it was just after a back-scratch and I couldn't refuse!

In the Abbey grounds a casualty of the previous night's wind.  We hadn't realised just how strong the wind had been but this oak(?) tree had not been able to withstand it ...

You begin to appreciate the destructive power of the elements when you see how the roadway has just been lifted as the roots gave way.  It's quite awesome and certainly stopped us, and many other visitors, in our tracks.  

We had a lovely walk and felt so much better for being outside in the fresh (and ever so slightly warmer) air!

My carrot cake birthday treat tastes as good as it looks.  As usual I had to tweak the recipe (no muscovado sugar, so plain granulated instead; not enough walnuts so used a handful of dates to bulk it out; no sandwich tins so had to use deep cake tin; and not enough icing sugar so the cream for the topping is actually more of a pouring cream!).  But it is very yummy and moreish.

Excellent cookery book was a Christmas present and has become a firm favourite.

I had more visitors yesterday afternoon, and lovely phone calls with my children in the evening, so I managed to spread my birthday over the whole weekend.  I had a lovely time - thank you to those who made me feel special. 

Happy Birthday to me!

A birthday bouquet

One year older today :-)   Lots of cards, some gifts and good wishes.  We don't make a huge thing about birthdays - commercialisation and consumerism try to overtake these sorts of celebrations, and that's not our thing at all.  It poured with rain all day, it was windy and dreary and not very warm.  I had hoped to get out for a walk to visit the pigs at Quarr but that wasn't going to happen with weather like this so we stayed put and watched the IPL (Indian Premier League) cricket on TV instead.  We enjoyed a lovely dinner of baked sea bass and salad, followed by trifle, all very delicious.  I cooked a carrot cake (as per my list!) and that will be eaten over the coming days.  It certainly looks and smells good.  We didn't go out for a posh meal, nor did we spend loads of money buying things we didn't need.  I had a good, simple birthday, with N.

The pea seeds have started to sprout.  I find it so exciting and fascinating watching them grow every day.  The beans are now coming on in the greenhouse, and yesterday N sowed some carrots in one of the raised beds.  Monty said last night that Spring is about 3 weeks behind where it should - I suspect that it's going to affect food prices later in the year.  

Sunday tomorrow.  I shall try to keep it screen-free.  Perhaps I'll get back to some sewing.

A daily list

What a difference a day makes.  Yesterday I was shrouded in gloom, today I made a list and made progress!

Here's the list I wrote this morning:

Take garden rubbish to the tip         done
Wash black duvet cover and pillowcases      done
Alter khaki walking trousers      done
Look up sewing patterns on-line
Orkney Folk Festival tickets - register as patrons      done
Choose recipe for birthday cake      done
Sand woodwork in hallway (1/2 hour)      done
Shredding      done
Write blog      done

I have always written lists.  I think they are a great help to organise, focus and achieve.  There is a huge sense of accomplishment when things can be crossed off a list.  I often have several lists on the go at once, for different categories - that can get a bit confusing, and items get moved from one list to another.  However, recently my lists seem to have gone by the board, and i end each day wondering if I have achieved anything at all.  A little while ago I was reading this post from  the Down to Earth blog.  Rhonda was demonstrating her list-making method, and the reasoning behind it.  I liked the idea of a need-to-do list, and a want-to-do one, and I hope to implement that soon.  Today, however, I just needed to write a list of things I was reasonably confident I could tackle, and have some likelihood of completing.  

So we took the trugs full of the old woody clematis that was cut down a few weeks ago to the tip (always satisfying), and then went on to the supermarket to get some ingredients for a meal for my birthday tomorrow - sea bass was half-price so we'll enjoy whole baked fish with a salad, and a home-made tipsy trifle :).  It was sunny and windy this morning so the bedclothes dried on the line.  I finally managed to alter some trousers, taking some fullness out of the back seam and waistband.  We've registered as patrons for the folk festival in Orkney - we're off up there again in a few weeks time (it's fast becoming our second home) - so we are able to buy tickets when they are first released later this month.  I've decided to make a carrot cake for my birthday (yum yum!) and I'll do that tomorrow.  I cleared the pile of shredding, and did some sanding down of the woodwork in the communal area in readiness for repainting it later.  There's a lot of preparation to do - door frames, staircase and bannisters, handrails and skirting boards - it all has to be sanded, washed down, and hoovered before I even pick up a paintbrush.  Still, by doing a little bit every day, it makes it a  more manageable task.  I tried to check out sewing patterns online, but the internet connection seemed sporadic today, so I'll leave that for tomorrow.

So, all in all, a really good, positive and productive day.  Hopefully we've turned the corner.

I don't like interviews

I need to get a grip.  We've lost our way over the past few days and we need to take back control of our lives.  

I had an interview for a job yesterday.  Just 10 hours a week, administration and secretarial duties.  It would have suited me down to the ground and I was reasonably confident that I had previous experience that would have stood me in good stead.  I was so pleased to have been called for interview (that in itself is a progression on the other jobs I've applied for) - so I guess my application obviously had some merit.  All I need to do now is control the nerves.  Easier said than done.  I had taken the time to research the job and spent some time preparing answers to possible questions, several of which came up.  I babbled away, trying to mention all the important key phrases, all the time wondering why I was putting myself through this ordeal.  The IT/typing test afterwards was a bit of a disaster :-(.  Anyway, it came as no surprise to have a phone call this morning informing me that unfortunately I had not been successful.  As both N and I have been highly stressed by the whole experience (me going through it, and N having to watch), I don't think I shall apply for any more jobs in the near future.  Sigh.

I've been so out of sorts, I've not even done much sewing.  The only thing I've managed over the last few days is to alter an old work jumper of N's.  It originally had eppauletes and shoulder patches, which N carefully picked to pieces with the seam-ripper (he's a dab hand at unpicking).  Then all I had to do was sew the seams back again and the work jumper is now perfectly serviceable as a plain black V-neck.  

We've been employed as child-minders a couple of days this week, looking after the grandkids during the school holidays.  We had plans to get out and about but the weather wasn't obliging and the picnic had to be eaten in the car, in the mist.  We did manage to plant some pea seeds with them, but we get the impression that all the various electronic gadgets and games that kids have these days seem to hold greater fascination than watching the miracle of plants growing from seed.

My daughter has had to employ Plan B in her search for a new flat.  At least she has a Plan B.  However, we are keeping fingers crossed that Plan A eventually comes good for her.

Tomorrow I shall make a concerted effort to be positive - we were doing so well until the wheels seemed to come off the bus.  I shall make another list, and focus on achieving some of the goals.  The weather is supposed to be improving over the weekend - this winter just seems to have dragged on indefinitely - and hopefully our spirits will improve too.  And it's my birthday soon. :-)

The sun has got his hat on!

Yipee!  Today the sun shone all day.  It's still cold but we all feel so much better if it's sunny. 

It's still too cold to plant anything out in the garden, but we've got more beans potted on and various seed trays dotted around the window sills in the house.  

The daffs are making a brave show of things:

and the paeony buds have broken through the soil:

I watched Gardeners' World on TV last night and Monty said that the plants are about 3 weeks behind where they should be. 

I made chickpea burgers a couple of days ago.  I'll put the recipe up at some stage.  I made 6 altogether, had 2 for dinner with chips and stewed tomatoes, and the others are in the freezer.  I was really impressed with them.  I might try another batch with some herbs (fresh coriander would be great, I think).

I tried a different bread flour last night - seed and nut - and it has given us a lovely nutty cob loaf.  

It slices really well, so much so that there' s fair chunk gone already!

While I was doing the ironing this afternoon, I found the 'steam' part of the iron didn't seem to be working at all.  I suspect it's due to the very hard water we have here; the sprays are probably bunged up with limescale.  Yes, I suppose I should be using distilled water but I don't.  However, N has just spent quite a while running a mixture of water and vinegar through the iron, and he tells me that he's got loads of gunk out of the steam sprays, and the iron certainly seems to be steaming better now than I've known it do for a very long time.  Thank you, N, for another maintenance job well done.  As he said to me, it's saved us the cost of a new iron!  We won't mention that the flat smell like a chippy ;-)

This was just after sunset last night.  The colours were so calming.

Belt loops . . . and shopping

As I type this at 13.45 on April 4, it is snowing!  Just a flurry, but still snow.  In April.  And it's freezing cold.  It's getting a bit boring now.

I came back from the weekend with a plea for help to repair a dress for my daughter.  The little loops that held a sash in place had come out of the seam. It's a common problem, and in the past I have usually made several loops from thread and then done half-hitches (like buttonhole stitch) over and over to make it stronger.  However, this time it occurred to me that I could crochet a chain and sew that in place.

I used buttonhole thread (much thicker and stronger than ordinary sewing cotton) and crocheted a short chain using a 0.75 size hook.  Then I sewed the chain in place using the thread at the ends of the chain and hey presto! one very acceptable belt loop.  This is a much better and I think neater way of doing this sort of repair and I don't why I haven't thought of it before.

We went shopping yesterday to fill up the cupboards, and to use a '£5 off if you spend over £40' voucher.  We took a list and stuck with it.  I've changed from a very reluctant shopper to one who is keen to shop wisely.  We are learning to read the little shelf labels that tell you the unit price per weight.  It certainly pays to take a bit of time to check similar products.  Luckily DH is quick on mental arithmetic so he can compare and convert easily.  We realised, for example, that we have been conned by buying pre-packed, sealable packs of cheese instead of having it cut at the counter.  In fact, we were rather horrified to find how much more expensive buying cheese in a convenient resealable pack was.  We worked out that pre-packed it was £3.00 for 350g, but £2.20 for 450g not in a pack.  Lesson learned.  We also spent a lot of time comparing loo rolls - we have found that buying the cheapest isn't always the most economical if the quality leaves a lot to be desired ;-).  So we are now 'test-driving' a different brand that's currently on offer.

We are beginning to make double quantity of soup at lunchtime, that we can reheat in the microwave for another day.  They are all just small steps, and just one thing at a time, but for us it is better than rushing headlong trying to change everything at once.  We need to be comfortable with what we are doing.

I am thankful every day that N is able to cook delicious, nutritious meals from what we have in our cupboards, fridge and freezer without needing a recipe.  He can think sufficiently outside the box to be able to replace one ingredient with another as necessary, and is confident in his own ability to be able to adapt recipes (in his head!) as he goes.  We eat healthily, we eat well and it doesn't break the bank or go over our monthly budget.  

I'm hoping to try a chickpea burger recipe this afternoon, but it won't be quite what the recipe says.  I wonder where I've got that from?!

And it's still snowing.

Easter Weekend away

The Easter Bunny . . .

. . . and a couple of seconds later, minus his ears!!

We're back home after a few days away, visiting my son and future DIL and celebrating their recent engagement with a party.  It's been lovely to catch up with them and other members of both families.  Lots of good food and wine ;)  We were able to see their holiday photos of their trip to New Zealand.  Wow, what a beautiful country - that'll have to go on the 'wish-list', I think.

It was the first time we travelled to Stevenage by train and we will certainly travel that way again.  So much less hassle, and we arrived unstressed and refreshed.

A little grandson  is a ardent Arsenal supporter so I did my best to snap a photo as the train went past their Emirates Stadium at Finsbury Park.

  
Going back into London on our return journey, we shared the train with a good number of Chelsea supporters, on their way to the cup-tie match with Manchester Utd.  All very good natured (and they subsequently won), but it meant that there were special arrangements on the Underground.  Imagine our surprise to find the tube station almost deserted - makes a change from the usual bun-fight.
  

Where is everyone?

Today it's been such a lovely sunny day, everyone has been in their gardens starting on all those little outside jobs that have been storing up over winter.  We've put the runner beans in the greenhouse to harden them off a little before we dare plant them out in the ground - it's still too cold really.  The tomato seeds that N sowed in the little propagator have germinated now.  It's always so exciting to see the tiny shoots break through the soil.

Now the clocks have gone forward for British Summer Time, the days are longer and the sunset this evening was lovely.