Tuesday 1 July 2014

Humpty Dumpty, Banoffee Pie and the Polytunnels


It's been a good weekend, stretched out longer than usual after Lovely Hubby's reverse Humpty Dumpty impression (falling off the wall backwards).
 
An afternoon and an evening spent lying on the sofa, medicated up to the eyeballs with Ibuprofen and a large glass of Port or two as a companion, his favourite way to self medicate!!   With me 'tutt tutting' at this and asking "are you sure you don't want to go to A&E"  every hour on the hour or whenever he moved and winced with the pain.
 
But by Sunday morning he was moving much better, we took the dogs for a gentle stroll along the prom in Llandudno, it got his knee and thigh loosened up nicely and when we got back we both got stuck in to some tidying up.  LH on his hands and knees freeing the new Laurel hedging from the long grass that had grown around it and me sorting out the front flower bed and transplanting herbs from the tin bath to the flower bed where there was a bit more room for the Sage, which has gone rampant.
 
It was a day of the sort of satisfying outside chores that you can see instant results from.
 

 
As he had some trouble driving LH decided on staying at home for an extra day instead of hopping in the car on Sunday night for the 250 mile trip to his digs in Berkshire.  So we spent Monday unpacking and sorting through the polytunnel delivery.  Some of the hoop tubes ends had been damaged during transit so they had to be knocked back into shape before they could be inserted into each other.  But eventually with a bit of persuasion they all fitted.
 
I don't know if you can tell from the photos, the old polytunnel hoops are at the top of the picture and the new ones lying below them on the hill, but we went for the 'Super Upgrade' with this polytunnel, for just an extra £54 you get steel tubing which is 35mm in diameter instead of the usual 25mm.  It will make it so much more secure and after seeing the difference between the two for the minimal extra cash I would recommend this every time, it is so much sturdier.
 
We got both our polytunnels from First Tunnels  and over the course of the next few weeks you will be able to watch our progress as they go up, changing the look of our hillside completely and finally getting us back into some serious home-grown food production.

 
Of course my wounded farmer man needed some molly-coddling over the weekend, and rooting around in the cupboard I found all I need to produce this - a cheats Banoffee Pie.  It went down very well with cups of tea over the course of Sunday and Monday and brought the smile back to his face.
 
But it was my, no indeed our last splurge of anything of this type as today is the first day of my getting back to health on the Harcombe Diet and LH is joining in with some serious healthy eating.  I have taken weights and measures (and photos ... they will not to be published on here, I'm shocked!!) and I will track my progress over the next two weeks over on my other Blog '365 Days - £365' where today you can see how to make this Banoffee Pie.
 
Thanks for all the words of sympathy after Lovely Hubby's fall and for the suggestion of Arnica ... inspired, and something I will keep in the cupboard from now on.  I do like more natural remedies for accidents and ailments.  Although Lovely Hubby would argue strongly in favour of a large glass of Port for any occasion  ;-)
 
Sue xx

17 comments:

  1. It amazes me the combined knowledge of the frugal thrifters, what they don't know........... Arnica will be going in my cupboard as well. I'm glad you DH is feeling a little better maybe I should take a little port for my toothache? lol

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    1. Well the ONLY time I drink Whiskey is if I have toothache. I hate the stuff usually, but if you swish it around your mouth and leave it resting on the sore tooth for as long as you can, it numbs it wonderfully :-)

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    2. May I suggest some clove oil dabbed onto the aching tooth as another natural treatment to keep in your home remedy cupboard.

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  2. Glad hubby is feeling better and the poly tunnel has arrived. I think you made the right decision regarding thickness of poles, especially as it will probably be more windy in winter.

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  3. Hello Sue, I am new to your blog. I am interesting to see how you get on with your polytunnel adventures and what you grow. I hope that it goes well for you and look forward to reading more. xx

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  4. I use Arnica on the outside for bruises and general aches and pains, I have not tried Port internally as I find a tot of Malt does the trick.

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  5. Glad LH was much better after self medicating ! So exciting to see the beginnings of the polytunnel !

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  6. Lucky you getting your polytunnel! I'm jealous!

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  7. I'm glad your husband is on the mend with no serious damage done. How exciting that your poly tunnel is going up!

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  8. We are probably going down to 2 polytunnels next year as the oldest small one is in the shade too much now trees and shrubs have grown. We don't want to cut them down. I hope you got some hot spot tape for the metal. Looking forward to seeing what you will grow- then we can compare and contrast!

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  9. Glad hubby is on the mend!
    My Sage has gone rampant this year too, so I will dry some for winter use.
    Looking forward to seeing the polytunnels up.
    Take care both of you with all this work!

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  10. Sorry to hear about your husband's fall. It's easily done - my husband couldn't quite reach the roofline of our garage when he was painting it, so he balanced a wooden pallet on top of the steel coalbunker. The pallet was bigger than the top of the bunker and he stood on the edge of it. He fell off, the pallet upended taking the pot of brown paint with it. What a mess! Fortunately, hubby wasn't too badly hurt, but quite shaken. It took me 2 hours to scrub the paint off him, his shoes and everything round about! Looking forward to hearing how the polytunnels go. I'm not much of a gardener but would love to grow fruit and veg x

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  11. I'm glad LH is on the mend Sue!
    I'm excited to see your polytunnels up! I love seeing the progress you're making at your lovely home.

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  12. Forgive me I'm only just catching up with posts so had no idea your hubby had fallen. I do hop she is on the mend.

    The polytunnels look like they are going to be fab.

    X x

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  13. Ah..the promenade at llandudno..a panacea of all ills
    Aunti glad goes to llandudno for a weeks holiday every year

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  14. I knew you would have to brush up on your nursing skills!!
    Have just checked the Banoffee Pie & might just have to make that.

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  15. I hope your lovely hubby is feeling much better now Sue, I'm a firm believer in banoffee pie as a cure-all! Looking forward to seeing your progress with the polytunnels.

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