The tide's out!

April seems to be coming to an end with plenty of rain.  Not little short showers but a good downpour all day.  We're back to standing water in the gardens again; the ground is still saturated from all the winter rain.  

A gallop on Appley Sands; yachts on the Solent and Portsmouth in the background

This afternoon, however, cleared bright and sunny, though still a bit chilly and breezy, but I was in need of a good walk so I took myself off along the esplanade towards Seaview.  It's always a popular walk on a Sunday afternoon, and there were lots of people about.

Seaview in the distance. 

The tide was out - way, way out.  From a distance, the pier looked as if it had been left high and dry, and the hovercraft was making it's approach to the slipway across a vast expanse of wet sand. 

The white wading bird at the water's edge is an egret; one of the Solent forts looming in the background.

 I walked along the sea wall as far as Seaview, but walked all the way back along the beach.  The huge shingle bank that was thrown up during the storms a few months ago is still there, but it is gradually flattening out.

 

Appley Tower

I thoroughly enjoyed my walk; if nothing else it blows the cobwebs away and gives me a good dose of healthy sea air.

I'm still working on the wedding cushion and really enjoying the hand stitching.  Hopefully it should be finished this week.  Then I need to give some thought to a dress for the wedding.  And do I wear a hat?

Plant cuttings

A few days ago I took some cuttings of the euonymous (I'm pretty sure it's 'Silver Queen').  I cut off short lengths of new growth, nipped off the bottom few leaves, and planted them up in potting compost.  A quick water, then placed under the propagator lid.  The next day they had all collapsed in shock!  We brought them indoors, gave them another drink and arranged a clear plastic bag over the pot to act as a mini greenhouse.  We put the cuttings on top of the kitchen cupboards, out of the way, and to be honest I forgot they were there.  

While putting something else away this morning, N checked up on the cuttings.  I fully expected them to have shrivelled up and died, but not a bit of it:

                                                     . . . they look quite healthy!

Taking cuttings is something I have only tried my hand at, but it's very satisfying to propagate plants in this way, and considerably cheaper, too.  I have succeeded in the past with clematis and lavender cuttings, and divide clumps of perennials at the end of the growing season.  I'm always on the look-out for likely specimens to 'pinch' cuttings from.  

N and I had a trip out to visit one of two nurseries and garden centres this afternoon, and we were a little surprised at the prices of plants, so if we are able to propagate one or two ourselves, that's a few extra pennies that stay in our pockets.  

I have a new loaf dish - a good-sized glass one - from the charity shop (you can just see it in the previous photo).  It's bigger than either of the tins I have, and makes a 'proper' sized loaf.  Spread with butter and topped with homemade damson jam . . . lovely!

Bits and pieces; random thoughts

Not sure why I haven't blogged for a few days.  There's quite a bit going on in our lives at present, just odds bits and pieces, but it seems to create a somewhat disjointed sort of feel to the days.  It'll pass in due course, I know.  In the meantime we potter along, doing what needs to be done.

We've had the obligatory 'April showers' for the last 3 or 4 days, filling the water butts to overflowing and encouraging all those pesky weeds.  And talking of the garden, it seems it's not just us who are partial to purple sprouting broccoli:

Something (we suspect the pigeons) has had themselves a tasty meal of all the florets!  And, actually, looking at the photos, the leaves have been attacked good and proper as well :(  Thankfully we can see the 'funny' side to this, and as N pointed out, we grew the brassicas more for a supply of leaves through the winter - the broccoli sprouts were a bit of a bonus.

We watch our little bluetits every day and we've persuaded ourselves we can recognise the male - he has rather scruffy feathers on the top of his head; he's obviously not ducking his head enough as he darts in and out of the nest-box!

Although the stormy weather of the winter is over, the legacy of fallen trees is evident; huge branches ripped off, trees completely uprooted, fences damaged.  We've noticed quite a number of people are having trees and hedges cut back, and in some cases removed completely, opening up new views.  It always looks so bare to start with.  Perhaps people are realising the damage that a fallen tree can cause, and are taking action to prevent that happening.  Whatever the reason, you can hear chain-saws being used on a very regular basis.  

Since returning from Spain, N and I have had an on-going discussion about the price of food, and the availability of fresh, seasonal produce.  And today we happened to see an advert on TV * encouraging people to abandon cooking and instead order takeaways via their mobiles!  A bit disheartening, to be honest.  We were at the supermarket yesterday, and I'm getting more and more depressed by the amount of 'convenience', in all it's guises, that is being offered to us.  It's very easy to pick up read meals - and we do it ourselves, occasionally - but there's a danger people will forget how to cook a meal from scratch, or worse still, have never learned how to.   

Finally, and with more than a bit of relief, I have found some fabric for my dress for the wedding - phew!  I'm really pleased, it's a pretty 'floral-ish' patterned viscose in lovely summery colours, and it will drape beautifully.  I'm looking forward to making it up.

*(We have been enjoying our annual dose of IPL - Indian Premier League - cricket, and the World Snooker Championship).

Piglets!

We made the most of the lovely weather today to take a walk to visit our favourite pigs at Quarr.  We'd heard rumours that there were piglets, so really we couldn't not go ;-)

And we weren't disappointed.  Seven little piglets, all squealing and playing in the mud, falling over each other in their efforts to get to mum (provider of food!)  There was quite a crowd around the enclosures; it's such a popular place for families, and the children were well entertained by the little piggies' antics.  

The Abbey has secured Lottery funding for improvements and restoration to the buildings and grounds, and it will be interesting to see the work when it has been completed.  As always, we had a very peaceful and restful wander around (even with the squeals!), and also spent some time at the latest art exhibition there, admiring the work of some very talented local artists.

Signs of Spring were all around.  Lambs in the fields:

and bluebells in the woods.  

Over the next couple of weeks, the woodland floor will turn into a sea of blue with these wild flowers - we saw a 'bluebell walk' advertised for next weekend.    
I've been a bit remiss with my baking recently - so much for my intention to try a new recipe every week *sigh* - but yesterday I got myself organised and baked a cherry cake, from 'The Great British Book of Baking'.  It has ground almonds in it, and I have to say it's a very good cake indeed.

I would like to point out that I followed the recipe very closely, but despite coating the cherries in flour, as instructed, they have all sunk to the bottom :(
Never mind, I shall just have to try this cake again . . . and again . . . and again.  

Easter weekend

Easter is late this year - the children go back to school on Tuesday, straight after the holiday weekend - so there are lots of signs, both in the garden and out and about, of new life, which seems appropriate.

We have returned from our time away to find everything bursting into leaf.   Trees seem fully clothed, bare branches disappearing.  Our bluetits, we are fairly sure, are sitting on eggs - the male is constantly darting in and out of the box with tasty morsels to keep his mate well fed whilst she is on egg-duty.  In the garden, we have florets on the purple-sprouting broccoli (yay!) and the garlic is filling out well.

Gloriously purple!!

When we went away, this astilbe was a mass of last year's dead leaves and stalks.  Now it's covered in fresh new growth.

The huge elephant garlic (centre front) is beginning to take on montrous proportions!

We took a walk to our local plant nursery on Saturday, only to find it was shut, in fact it looked completely closed down.  If that's permenant then it's a real shame as we used to get most of our veggie seedlings there.  Maybe the closure is only temporary.  In the meantime we ventured slightly further afield to another little nursery we hadn't visited before.  It is run as a 'not-for-profit' community venture and although it's only small, we were impressed by the plants that were available.  We bought three tomato plants to get us started this season (it's still quite early; there's still a possibility of frosts):

Potted up on the greenhouse

I managed to finish off a sewing project just in time to for our holiday and was able to take a 'new' jacket away with me.  It had started life as a long-sleeved top of N's, very similar to this one:

There were some marks on it which refused to come out in the wash, and N decided to part company with it.  I had originally thought of cutting it up for polishing cloths but after some consideration, and a little inspiration from 'The Great British Sewing Bee', I decided to see if I could make something new (for myself) from something old.  I didn't really have a finished design in mind, it just sort of developed along the way into this:

Having worn it several times on holiday - it proved a winner as an extra layer in the evening - and also since returning home, I have to say I'm really pleased with it.  It's different, smart and casual at the same time, made to measure and goes with jeans, shorts and skirts.  And the only cost was the buttons.  

It has taken us a few days to find our usual routine but I think we're there now, and ready to pick up the reins again.  May and June could well be quite busy and exciting months for us but we are having to be patient once again before we can properly start with our hoped-for plans.  In the meantime there's plenty to do.  Lists are being made again, and having learned the lesson that it's better to keep those lists achievable and worthwhile, rather than overly optimistic (!), I can get to work with tasks and projects over the next few weeks.  I have just had my sewing-machine serviced (I think that will probably be it's last overhaul; next time it might just have to be a new machine) and it now runs smoothly so no excuses not to put it to good use.  There are projects lined up already.  

Holiday snaps

We've returned home after a week in Spain, thoroughly enjoying the change of pace, beautiful warm, sunny weather and excellent food (especially the excellent food!)  

A glass of rioja, at a pavement bar as the sun goes down.  This was our favourite bar; the owner went out of his way to ensure all his patrons were looked after - we felt our custom was really appreciated.

Torremolinos was one of the original package tour destinations on the Costa del Sol, and seemed to acquire a bit of a reputation as a cheap and cheerful, booze-fuelled place in the sun (or maybe that's how I perceived it).  Just goes to show how wrong perceptions can be.  We stayed there for a couple of days late last year and thought what a lovely place it was, and quite deserving of a longer stay.  We weren't disappointed at all - it is everything we thought it was, and more.  Venture a few yards off the promenade and it becomes much less tourist, and far more traditional Spanish.

The promenades are wide and flat, ideal for strolling along or jogging . . .

. . . and they often have a separate lane for roller-blading and cycling, all of which are very popular.

The lifestyle in southern Spain is slow and easy-going and N and I feel very comfortable there.  It's very much an outdoors life, and that suits us fine.  We spent the week just strolling up and down the wide, flat (and clean) promenades, in shorts and T-shirts, and managed to notch up over 60 miles in the process.  

A jug of sangria was very welcome after a few miles along the prom!

Food, it seems, plays a big part in our trips to Spain (and Greece; very similar climate and lifestyle).  We always appreciate the fresh, local produce which seems to have such a superior taste to anything that comes wrapped in plastic on the supermarket shelves in this country.  And meals are meant to be enjoyed and taken time over, not rushed.  I think we had all our main meals outside, and that simply added to the pleasure and experience.

Seafood paella at one of the many 'chiringuitos' (beach cafe/restaurant/bars) that are all along the promenades.  Excellent food everywhere.

We have 'found' Spain at a time in our lives when we are able to really appreciate all that it has to offer in the way of lifestyle, food and yes, the weather does help, too!  It seems to us to be a slow and simple way of life there which suits us very well.  Walking so much, as we do, allows us to take in things at a leisurely pace and whilst we may not see all the 'touristy' attractions, and we don't spend a penny buying tacky souvenirs, we feel we probably gain much more by taking things at a 'Spanish pace'.

Monday? Already?

Lots of nesting activity in the garden recently.  This jackdaw arrived on the fence with a piece of newspaper . . .

. . . which he proceeded to pull to shreds before flying off with it.  Something to read whilst incubating eggs?

I'm sure time is on fast-forward at the moment.  It certainly seems that way.  We're skipping through the weeks and months with alarming speed and I would quite like for life just to slow down a bit.  No?  Ah well, just a dream I guess.  

We cleared and sorted lots of bagged donations on Friday - it's always satisfying if we manage to make headway into the huge pile of boxes and bags.  And the time certainly flies by.

I need to mention, very briefly, the knitting I was so thrilled about last time.  Having knitted up over two 100g-balls, I became a little concerned about the sizing.  Bearing in mind I had very, very carefully knitted up a tension square, as per the instructions, and made some alterations to the number of stitches I cast on.  (I had even enlisted N's help to ensure my calculations were correct!)  Something had gone very much amiss.  The jumper was knitting up way too big and the only solution was to unpick the whole lot.  *Sigh*  In fact, lots of *sighs*.  I was so enjoying the knitting, and now I'm back to square one with it.  

However, I did have some sewing to keep me occupied over the weekend.  I'm making a special cushion for some special people, and having bought a 22" square pad, I found out that what I actually needed was an 18" one.  A bit of cropping was required.  That was not a problem.  What was a bit of a faff was squeezing the hollow-fibre filling back into the cover.  It expands, you see, and there did seem to be an awful lot of it.  Perseverence was the key, I discovered.

We've been back to rain the last three days, and cold enough for me to need a jumper again.  The only glimpse of sun today was as it set this evening.

Through the window . . . and the raindrops!

N and I are taking a break for a few days.   We're looking forward to a little R&R, good fresh food and pleasant walks by the sea.  We'll be back, rested and refreshed and ready for a busy few weeks.

Going round in circles

The knitting I started recently has gone from two needles to one.  I'm back on a circular needle and loving it.  It seemed to make far more sense to knit the front and back of my jumper in one piece, at least up to the armholes, rather than two separate pieces with a seam either side, especially as the four balls of wool I bought in Orkney each have a slightly different range of dyes in them.  I decided the jumper would look more coherent if I knitted in bands of dye colour rather than blocks, so I unpicked an entire ball of wool (over 100g *sigh*) and started again with a circular needle.

Now I've got going again, I don't know why I don't always use a circular needle.  It's so easy - always doing knit rows for stocking stitch makes the knitting grow a lot quicker!  I've used a couple of small split rings as seam markers (I think you can buy special markers but these makeshift ones do the trick at the moment).

I've decided I like having some knitting on the go.  It's good to have something I don't really have to think too much about, I can just sit and knit, and talk or watch TV (rarely!), I can carry it round with me to different rooms or take it out into the garden.  I think 'portability' is the key here.  And I'm sure I need to make a bag (rather than using an old plastic one) to carry all my knitting paraphanalia around with me.  Best add that to the list.

At the start of April

Not so long ago, this tree was bare.  Now it's clothed in bright new leaves. 

We welcomed April in yesterday, sitting in the garden, reading (him), knitting (me) and nest-watching - both of us.  We're feeling very protective of our little bluetit couple, and their work ethic in building and furnishing their nest-box has impressed us very much.  I'm beginning to wonder just how much room there is left in that little box, judging by the amount of soft nesting material that is being taking in.  These two birds are certainly diligent parents-to-be; I hope all their hard work pays off with a successful and healthy brood.

One of our bluetits with a beak-ful of nesting material.  This was the best of many, many photos I took of these birds yesterday, but my goodness, they're always darting around - no time to pose!

I tried my hand at making hot-cross buns yesterday.  Not having made them from scratch before, I followed the recipe very carefully but for some reason the dough didn't want to prove at all which was a bit disappointing.  I wonder perhaps if it was because I added the dried yeast to the dry ingredients instead of starting it off with sugar and warm milk as I do for my bread.  

Although there were a few hiccups with the process, the buns were good and certainly better than shop-bought ones which seem to disappear in a couple of mouthfuls, at least in this house they do ;)   Next time, I think I will use the basic bread recipe which I have just about perfected ('frothing' the yeast to start), and add extra sugar, twice the amount of spices (we like our hot-cross buns spicy) plus the fruit and see if I get a better/lighter result.  

I didn't make 'crosses' (I'm told that's only for Easter buns), but the glaze was a success.

Now the clocks have gone forward an hour, we are having that re-adjustment to lighter evenings.  It's the anticipation of late Spring and Summer, warmth and sunshine.  And a productive garden.  So much to look forward to.