GAINS LOSSES
On the crafting front, I've just finished crocheting this cotton shopping bag. This pattern results in a cute, not overlarge bag that's ideal for small amounts fruit and veg, which is what I was after. The great thing with this pattern is that you can enlarge your bag by adding extra rows and reinforce the handles with extra rows of double crochet. It's very versatile and an easy make - I will be making more!
We've been eating out of the greenhouse at last, but crops have been very slow to materialise. I wasn't sure whether to grow cucumbers this year after the bitter offerings of the last two years, but went ahead as I already had the seeds. Bitterness occurs when there are extremes of temperature apparently, so didn't hold out much hope for anything edible. Surprisingly, this years are crisp and sweet and I'm a happy bunny, as you can't beat home grown cukes.
They are also surprisingly good for you. In my youth they were thought of as just water, without much dietary value - how wrong we were!
I can vouch for the above drink, it's deliciously refreshing, but I left out the celery, as it overpowers everything.
I love the earthy tomatoey smell of the green house, it just makes my mouth water. We're getting small but regular crops at the moment. There were more than this, but a few just fell into my mouth. How can you resist warm little tommies straight from the plant!
The Cabbage White butterfly larvae have devastated the garden. I harvested the radishes, despite their foliage being badly nibbled, but alas, they had the texture and taste of old wine corks, not that I've ever scoffed a wine cork, but you get the idea. I'm blaming the intense heat as well as the critters.
I then went on a bit of a rampage and pulled out all the bolted and wilted lettuce, lambs lettuce, which had a horrible film on it and some of the fennel. Gardening can be very hard sometimes, you win, you lose.
The greenhouse had also been affected, but only the baby brassica plants. I picked off the caterpillars and popped them onto the bird feeder. I don't like killing things, but have to do this every year, as we don't use pesticides. You have to become quite brutal....gardening can do that to you.
I was about to pop the second batch of wrigglies on the feeder, and found the first lot making their escape down the pole - they're speedy little beggers. I ended up throwing them into the field instead. Mr has put a new screen door on the greenhouse, and more plants will be bought.
There are blemishes on quite a few of the plums and I'm hoping it won't affect the eating, they were so perfect this time last year. I'm convincing myself it's just sun scald. As quite a few plums have dropped, all the grey water from the house is being carried out and poured around the base of the trees.
The one thing in the garden I am most concerned about is Stanley. He was a present from Mr. seventeen years ago, and I've never seen him look this bad. He was re-potted at the end of last year, and has been looking might fine ever since, but after the hot spell, not so good. Mr, who laughs at me for naming plants and inanimate objects, has assured me that he'll be fine, but still.
On a brighter point, last week I was treated to a girls night out at my favourite little cinema to watch The Greatest Showman, Sing-a-Long. Not a film I would have chosen, and once you can got past Hollywood's take on the life of P.T. Barnum, which was grossly inaccurate and some of the excruciatingly cheesy scenes, it was a rollicking night out. There were quite a lot of children with their mums, dads and grandparents and everyone joined in the singing, as a little ringmaster's hat bounced along the lyrics at the bottom of the screen. We clapped, we whooped, we almost demanded an encore at the end. As Miranda Hart would say 'What fun!'.
Hoping all is well and wonderful in your neck of the woods!
On the crafting front, I've just finished crocheting this cotton shopping bag. This pattern results in a cute, not overlarge bag that's ideal for small amounts fruit and veg, which is what I was after. The great thing with this pattern is that you can enlarge your bag by adding extra rows and reinforce the handles with extra rows of double crochet. It's very versatile and an easy make - I will be making more!
We've been eating out of the greenhouse at last, but crops have been very slow to materialise. I wasn't sure whether to grow cucumbers this year after the bitter offerings of the last two years, but went ahead as I already had the seeds. Bitterness occurs when there are extremes of temperature apparently, so didn't hold out much hope for anything edible. Surprisingly, this years are crisp and sweet and I'm a happy bunny, as you can't beat home grown cukes.
We had a cute little dud - he tasted good too.
I can vouch for the above drink, it's deliciously refreshing, but I left out the celery, as it overpowers everything.
I love the earthy tomatoey smell of the green house, it just makes my mouth water. We're getting small but regular crops at the moment. There were more than this, but a few just fell into my mouth. How can you resist warm little tommies straight from the plant!
The Cabbage White butterfly larvae have devastated the garden. I harvested the radishes, despite their foliage being badly nibbled, but alas, they had the texture and taste of old wine corks, not that I've ever scoffed a wine cork, but you get the idea. I'm blaming the intense heat as well as the critters.
I then went on a bit of a rampage and pulled out all the bolted and wilted lettuce, lambs lettuce, which had a horrible film on it and some of the fennel. Gardening can be very hard sometimes, you win, you lose.
The greenhouse had also been affected, but only the baby brassica plants. I picked off the caterpillars and popped them onto the bird feeder. I don't like killing things, but have to do this every year, as we don't use pesticides. You have to become quite brutal....gardening can do that to you.
I was about to pop the second batch of wrigglies on the feeder, and found the first lot making their escape down the pole - they're speedy little beggers. I ended up throwing them into the field instead. Mr has put a new screen door on the greenhouse, and more plants will be bought.
On the upside, a good amount of fruit is appearing on our trees and I am now looking at dehydrators again (down the rabbit hole once more).
There are blemishes on quite a few of the plums and I'm hoping it won't affect the eating, they were so perfect this time last year. I'm convincing myself it's just sun scald. As quite a few plums have dropped, all the grey water from the house is being carried out and poured around the base of the trees.
The one thing in the garden I am most concerned about is Stanley. He was a present from Mr. seventeen years ago, and I've never seen him look this bad. He was re-potted at the end of last year, and has been looking might fine ever since, but after the hot spell, not so good. Mr, who laughs at me for naming plants and inanimate objects, has assured me that he'll be fine, but still.
On a brighter point, last week I was treated to a girls night out at my favourite little cinema to watch The Greatest Showman, Sing-a-Long. Not a film I would have chosen, and once you can got past Hollywood's take on the life of P.T. Barnum, which was grossly inaccurate and some of the excruciatingly cheesy scenes, it was a rollicking night out. There were quite a lot of children with their mums, dads and grandparents and everyone joined in the singing, as a little ringmaster's hat bounced along the lyrics at the bottom of the screen. We clapped, we whooped, we almost demanded an encore at the end. As Miranda Hart would say 'What fun!'.
Hoping all is well and wonderful in your neck of the woods!
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