Over the finish line at last

Who needs a take-away when we can have delicious home-made curry and naan bread?

With the weight lifted off our shoulders, N and I are now able to chill a little.  There has been a bottle of bubbly (and a slight fuzzy head in the morning - oh dear, always seems such a good idea at the time!) and a lovely home-cooked curry, a few phone calls to cancel accounts, paperwork to be checked and filed away - but mostly just taking things easy at last.  The flat has finally been sold. 

There are many, many projects and jobs to keep us busy and occupied through the autumn and winter, but we intend to take our time, just pottering along.  Yesterday, with the weather still holding well, we were back in the garden.  The task of bringing order back into the garden is going to take a while, and is a bit daunting if I'm honest, but it will be one step at a time, and we will enjoy ourselves as we tackle it.  

So Saturday found me wielding lump-hammer and chisel as I did battle with some cemented-in brickwork (it is no longer there - it didn't stand a chance with me in demolition-mode).  It is so satisfying to get stuck into something like that.  My thumb now sports a plaster (*sigh*) but the area has been cleared and is ready for N to fill the hole with a bit of concrete.  Just clearing that small patch has opened up the whole area, making it far more accessible than it was previously.

Today N has been sorting out the various pots dotted around the garden, moving some plants into the greenhouse ready for winter and just generally having a bit of a clear up outside.  A little more order has been achieved.  

A couple of weeks' ago we bought a wicker laundry basket from a charity shop.  It was a bit dusty and dirty, and the seat cover needed recovering, but nothing that we couldn't fix, and at £3, a good buy to replace our present basket which is on it's last legs.  I have given it a thorough clean (laundry liquid and warm water), and allowed it to dry naturally outside.  The old seat cover was removed, the foam interior washed and dried, and today I made a new cover from some old curtains I had in my stash.

  

The revamped basket is now in our bedroom, clean, smart and ready to double-up as a spare chair if needed.

Tomorrow we will start on the 'snagging' - all those little bitty jobs that need to be done to finish each room off.  Again we will take our time, and if the weather continues to stay dry, no doubt we will be outside more than inside.  That's fine by me.

Jam

I had a mammoth jam-making session on Tuesday, blackberries and bramley apples, and finished up with seven jars full of deep red sweetness.

We had 2kg of fruit, so that meant 2kg of sugar (that's a lot of sugar!) and it filled the pressure cooker, the biggest saucepan I have, almost to the brim.  Hmm, methinks I should have kept that preserving pan I used to have all those years ago.  It soon became clear that all that fruit, sugar and liquid was going to need very, very careful looking after.  Trying to maintain a 'rolling boil' when the jam was constantly in danger of escaping the pan made things quite interesting!  However, we did eventually reach setting point - the 'wrinkle' test on a saucer in the fridge - and it was so satisfying to pour the jam into pots.  We have, of course, done a taste test (several, just to make sure) and it is delicious.

After several weeks of uncertainty, this morning finally brought the phone-call we had been waiting for.  Phew!!  By the end of the day we had rather more control on things than we have had for a while.  Huge relief.  A good nights' sleep is in order, then we can start afresh tomorrow, a weight off our minds.

The beginnings of a vegetable garden

The weather over the weekend has been wonderful (no doubt the Bestival-goers were relieved they weren't knee-deep in mud this year!) and we have spent most of the time outside.

The 'veg plot' is at last being got to grips with.  It was way too big to work in it's entirety and we always knew that raised beds were the way to go, having been reasonably successful with them before.  We made a good team; N cutting the wood to size with the chop-saw, both of us then 'squaring' the beds up before he staked the corners with offcuts.  Then I stepped in with sieve and bucket, breaking the earth up and fishing out the stones for the gravel paths.  Seeing the results of our labours so immediately was very gratifying!

Autumn fruits just ripe for the picking!

Yesterday we took ourselves off for a stroll down the local country lanes.  We found a veritable hedgerow feast waiting for us so it was just as well we had gone prepared with containers.  I will be making jam tomorrow, all being well.

And now for the garden . . .

Having more or less finished the refurbishment inside, the good weather this week has lured us (as if we needed any incentive) into the garden.  We have been looking forward to having the time to spend sorting out the garden - it is in need of a fair bit of TLC, to be honest - and it's been good to start a bit of pottering outside.  

There is a lot to do so we are just taking things slowly, one job at a time.  We have emptied the old compost bin (thankfully no 'nasties' lurking) and will be able to use the compost when we come to planting.  The bin is now set up in a new and far more convenient location ready for use.

N has been busy building a raised carrot bed:

Out attempt to deter the dreaded carrot-root fly

It's a jolly nifty bit of work; the container is the old water tank from the loft, removed when we had the new central heating installed, and the 'legs' are odd bits of wood we found under the shed.  A bit of upcycling like this is always satisfying!  The seed packet recommended sowing a few months ago but we have nothing to lose by trying a late crop.  It will be interesting to see how things progress.

Whilst N was busy with veggie gardening, I began the task of clearing up some of the beds along the side path.  We have a general idea of what we want to do in the garden and I think it's going to take quite a while to put those plans into practice.  So I started small, digging up and potting up a large grass (I could do with finding out what it is exactly!) that we want to move into a border that isn't made yet.  I was delighted to discover, lurking underneath the leaves, clumps of little cyclamen.  

These have been carefully dug up and will be re-homed elsewhere in the garden.  Soil has been sieved for the carrot bed, and stones salvaged for gravel pathways.  Nothing goes to waste around here.

Pottering in the garden soothes the soul. We have had some good news and some bad news this week, and being able to spend time outside, hands in the soil, has been very therapeutic and given me space to reflect.

Along the cliff path

Firstly, a couple of 'Ta Dah' moments:

Kitchen floor finished . . .

. . . and bedroom curtains finished.

It was a lovely late summer's day today so we took full advantage of the weather, drove a few miles to Sandown, parked up and walked along the cliff path to Shanklin, then back along the sea wall.

The cliffs along this stretch of coastline are prone to landslips and with all the wet weather during the winter, several areas have yet again disappeared - the path has been re-routed a few feet inland:

The old path and new path separated by the new green railings

 - or fenced off altogether!

I guess the path went over the cliff!

There are some steep ups and downs - good for the leg muscles!

Looking up to the cliff path from the sea wall

The return section along the sea wall is flat and ideal for a leisurely stroll in the sun.

Looking out to Sandown Bay and towards Culver Cliff in the distance

It was a lovely walk, and we met up with an old friend along the way so stopped for a good natter.  We all agreed that we are fortunate to live in such a beautiful place with the sea on our doorstep.  It was good to get out and enjoy it today.

September in the garden

I don't normally post twice in one day but I'm hoping to do a monthly update of progress in the garden and intend to take photos from the same location on the first day of each month.  I should probably aim for once a week but from past experience my good intentions have a habit of quickly fizzling out so I'm aiming low in the hopes of succeeding!  

Now the end of the decorating is within sight, N and I have begun to mull over ideas for bringing the garden back to life.  A big(ger) garden was one of the things we very much wanted and we certainly have a blank canvas to work with.  

So, September's gardening photos.

Plenty of work to be done!

Motivated Monday

We have been busy little bees today.  Fully motivated to get jobs done.  N has beavered away with the kitchen floor, and I got a second coat of paint on the walls then pressed on with the curtains.

Looking smart, or what?  My DB has worked incredibly hard all day, muttering away to himself, coming and going, measuring and cutting.  He stopped for a cup of coffee for elevenses, and grabbed a bite to eat for lunch but apart from that has been determined to do as much as possible.  He now has bad knees, and aching shoulders but he, and I, are so thrilled with the result of his efforts.  There are just a few lengths still to fit but, all being well, the kitchen floor should be finished by lunch-time tomorrow.  

My job, apart from keeping out of his way [ ;) ], was spending some time pinning and stitching.  Just the hems left to turn up and sew; hopefully I shall have the time for that tomorrow.

Life is slowly sorting itself out.  We hope that by the end of this week the bulk of the decorating will have been completed.  Little by little, daily routines are becoming re-established, and with it a sense of stability and purpose.  It's been an interesting summer, so say the least, but I think we're both looking forward to an autumn of pottering again.