Sorry Mrs Blackbird ...

 

 

Sorry Mrs Blackbird .... I noticed the Redcurrants glistening like jewels on the bush in the Veggie Patch, and I spotted that you had been sampling them, and most likely took some home for your babies too

 

I hope they had a lovely breakfast yesterday, but today they are mine. 

 

Little pockets of goodness that we need for our health.  I really do hope you had your fill, but in case you didn't or in case you had promised your little darlings another breakfast of bright red loveliness I decided all dropped redcurrants would be left behind for you to gather. 

 

 Last year you ate them all, stealing them away overnight whilst I slept in my bed dreaming of my pickings the following morning. Perhaps you will remember my generosity next year if you visit before me again and save me some ...

.... or perhaps you won't.

 

 

My harvest at 10am yesterday morning.

 

I said I was sorry to the little caterpillars too, they had a wash and were underwater for a good ten minutes before they were spotted, but they were still alive and were relocated to the bushes outside the backdoor.

 

 

Washing the Redcurrants made me notice my purple finger nail.  Yes my life is all excitement and colour, I had just finished spraying the chicken's sore bits with antiseptic (it has a harmless purple stain in it so you can see you have got it in the right place on the bird), my finger is still purple today, that'll teach me not to put my gloves on until the last minute.

 

 

 

The Redcurrants all washed and ready for the freezer, the leaves are for arty farty purposes and were removed at the last minute, the lovely heart shape at the top of the post happened almost by itself when I was drying the Redcurrants and was helped simply by a finger drawing down the middle section slightly.

 

Who said I didn't have an artistic streak :-)

 

 

I've also got a brand new keyboard for my computer, so gone will be the weird words I spot when I look up and find I have called you 'yo' and joined words together because my space bar refuses to do a space.  The inane drivvle will still spill forth, but at least it should be spelt correctly!!

 

I'm off to do a spot of planting out before the heat of the day slows me down to a standstill, this weather is wonderful, but I am seriously considering a little rain dance to encourage the heavens to open and give all the plants a really good water.  I even had to bite the bullet and top up the pond yesterday.   The level was seriously low and the fish hadn't been seen for days, so for two hours water ran through our water meter at an alarming rate.  But it was worth it .... when I went to check things later the fish were swimming again and the little pond had erupted into life.

 

Sue xx



My Good Girl

 

My Good Girl - Rosy.

 

Why is she a good girl I hear you ask, because last night she caught one of these ....

 

... and when Mum told her to 'Leave It' ...... she did, and it had the chance to scamper back into the bushes and hide.

 

This was the first time I have ever seen a badger close up and alive, although I've seen lots by the side of the road sadly squished by cars.  It must have been a reasonably young one as it was a shade smaller than Rosy and perhaps had wandered a bit too far in the dusk of the early evening as it trotted along in the bushes by the side of our drive. 

 

It's always nice to know that when push comes to shove the training you do with your dog pays off, and no doubt my little badger friend thinks so too.

 

 

Rosy is no angel all the time and I'm sure she was thinking how very tasty this might have been. 

 

She did try to go back down the track to find her 'takeaway supper' but a stern 'Come' and she came trotting back to the house with us, while Little Master Badger no doubt set off for home, relieved to be able to get back to his family and recount the tale of the strange creature that had him by the throat and let go for no apparent reason.

 

Sue xx

 

 

 

 

 

The £2 House Keeping Challenge - Nearing the End ?

 

This was the shopping bought for this week, it's looking very different from usual, there's no fresh fruit and veg for a start, that's mostly because we have our own growing now and most meals start with a mooch around the Veggie Patch seeing what's ready to be picked.

 

 There's lots of water because the smaller bottles were on offer for once and Lovely Hubby loves these.   The normal price is 49p for the large and 45p for the small, so I tend to buy a large and decant it into a small for travelling purposes, it's almost two for the price of one that way, but at the end of last week the small ones were 25p each so it was worth stocking up with small bottles for future decanting purposes.

 

There's a few 'cheats', ready rolled pastry and ready made quiches, because I have something in mind ..... she says mysteriously :-)

 

There are two large tubs of cream, that's because we have been enjoying some creamy Alfredo Sauces and pasta with our own homegrown Courgettes (with a bit of bacon added for Lovely Hubby) ....

 

 

... so much so we've used up all the spaghetti and the jar is now holding the last of the pasta twists instead.

 

Yes, things are starting to run out and not all are being replaced, we are starting to make do with what we have, thinking things through and making changes.  This is where is getting more exciting for me, meals are that much more satisfying if you've had to think 'outside the packet'.

 

For instance we've ran out of all the lovely big jars of Mayonnaise that I bought while it was on offer in Winter ...

 

 

... it was no problem as I had all the ingredients.

 

So I made my own.

 

Yes, it tastes slightly different, it tastes fresh and vibrant and can be altered to suit what we are eating.  If we want it garlicky I just add half a teaspoon of lazy garlic to a big dollop of it, if we want it 'hot' I add a few chilli flakes and leave it to sit for a while for the flavours to infuse slightly. 

 

I used to do it the traditional way put all the ingredients in the food processor except the oil and then drizzle the oil in slowly drop by drop and then in a steady stream and then I found an even easier way.

 

 I picked up this quickest of quick recipes from Elaine over at Mortgage Free in Three.

 

Mayonnaise

 

1 Whole Egg

half teaspoon of salt

half teaspoon of dry mustard

2 tablespoons of lemon juice

250 mls of Light Olive Oil

 

Put ALL ingredients into a jug.

 

Whizz with a stick blender for 10 seconds.

 

Put into a nice clean jar.

 

Enjoy

 

Yes, it's that simple.

 

As you can see I tinkered with the ingredients slightly, I didn't have any lemons or dry mustard, my eggs were small so I used two, and it still all worked out fine and miraculously changed from a pile of things in the bottom of the jug to a jam jar sized amount of lovely fresh Mayonnaise.

 

Give it a go you'll be amazed.

 

(I've decided to put a Recipe page at the top of the Blog and try and gather together some of the recipes I put on here as a few of you have been emailing me and asking for them, I hope it helps.)

 

*** *** ***

 

I put 'Nearing the End ?' in the title today because there is just £26 left in the £2 House Keeping Tin, and I'm wondering how long I can keep this going.  I have a little build up of Nectar points again, so that should help but it's not a lot of cash left to spend.  Although with all this hot weather we have been eating less and mostly from the Veggie Patch so things do seem to have lasted. 

 

Something that has amazed me is how little we have eaten from the food cupboard, the one that holds the tins and packets.  There's not a lot of change in there even after all this time.  We must have used some things because all the jars of Pasta Sauce that I made recently are now sitting comfortably in there.  But it's really astounded me how it has remained so seemingly static for so long.  It does make me feel we have to completely re assess our food purchasing habits at the end of this Challenge.

 

We seem to eat predominantly fresh foods and dried foods from the jars, rice, pasta etc, rather than many tins or packets.  What I may find helps me is having to use the things up in the cupboard as the funds run out, then I might discover a new love of them or it might simply re-affirm that we don't want to eat that way.

 

Back tomorrow with some lovely pictures of where we were over the weekend, we had a fantastic day out on Saturday and as it was so hot we decided to drop the dogs off at the kennels on the way so it turned into a lovely leisurely weekend.

 

Sue xx

Something's Been Sleeping in My Bed ......

In the distance a familiar face is lurking in the Veggie Patch, can you see him ...

 



 

.... Mr Hawkeyes, is back. 

 

He used to guard the chickens at our old place, keeping away some of the large flocks of rooks we used to get stealing their food.  He's been languishing all neglected by the raised beds since we got here, we've never had the same scale of bird problem.   Yesterday I decided I needed his help ...

 

 

..... because something's been sleeping in my bed .... my Strawberry Bed that is.

 

For everything to be that squished and flattened out to that extent it just has to be one of the small deer we have roaming round here.  We've seen them leap all our fences with the greatest of ease.  We have Roe deer and a growing number of little Muntjac deer living in the woods that surround us.  We see them everyday cutting across the paddocks and even coming right up to the back door on occasion.  So which ever one of them it was the other night  will have got a shock when they came back last night, to find someone with big glaring eyes watching them. 

 

It seems to have worked for now, there is no more damage this morning, and after I gave the plants a good drink yesterday some of them have recovered.  I'm going to stop by there on the way to feed the chickens and pick up all the damaged strawberries to add to their corn this afternoon.

 

 

Mixed Reading and Bob the Street Cat

 

I have a mix of books in my current reading pile.

 

 

I'm halfway through this one, it's the wonderful tale of Neil Ansell who lived for five years full time in the Welsh hills in a cottage minus all mod cons and really got in tune with nature.  It's fascinating reading, so relaxing and really gets me in the mood to get back to basics.

 

 

Waiting in the wings is this book, it's just arrived after a Blogging Buddies recommendation and I am itching to dip in.

 

 

Also just arrived from Amazon for me is the middle book out of these three.  I read the first one when we were on holiday in Guernsey last year and left it in the hotel for the next guest to read but I shouldn't have I really wanted to read it again so I bought another copy when it came down in price.  The book on the right is an easy to read shorter version of the first, lovely for children who are good readers. 

 

The story of Bob (and James) is such a very special one, he is everywhere at the moment as this second book is just out and they, yes Bob goes too, are touring the Uk signing books.

 

 

I am following their progress avidly.  Bob's paw print is added to James' signature on every signed book.  James had a special stamp made of Bob's paw so he doesn't have to physically do each one.

 

They even popped up on QVC the other day with a brilliant interview.

 

 

A mini documentary about James and Bob.

 

Can you tell I love the whole story, as do millions of other folk.

 

All the books I have listed here are available from Amazon and I have moved my Link Box up on the sidebar in case you want to nip over and have a look at the books and the reviews they have got from other folk.

 

 

 

Lovely Hubby picked me a rose from the garden last night ...

 

 

 

... isn't it gorgeous and isn't he lovely :-)

 

Sue xx

 

 

 

 

Little Shop, Gifts from Blogging Friends and Happy Dancing

 

A little top-up shop done at the weekend, I spent £7.40 ..... and yes I bought a lettuce.

 

 I have soooo many Mixed Leaves growing around the place at the moment, but I wanted a bit of crispy lettuce to mix in with them, I thought I had planted some but it seems either I haven't or someone has eaten them!!  The milk has been popped into the freezer and the bags are used when I sell the Muffins at the car boot sale as well as around the house, and I had run out completely.

 

So that was £8 taken out of the £2 Housekeeping Tin for the shopping .... and then £8 put back in on Sunday after the car boot sale.  We took a total of £229, including selling 43 Chocolate Muffins at 20p each (the other 60p goes into the Sealed Pot).  It means we have our 'spends' for this month again without drawing any cash out of the bank and all money not spent is money left in the bank towards our new home.

 

There is now just £43 left in the £2 House Keeping money tin.

 

There was a lovely little packet in our  post-box on Saturday morning, a gift from a fellow blogger.   THANK YOU Anne they are a wonderful selection. Visit Anne's Blog HERE for a really enjoyable read, she's got some beautiful flowers growing in her garden at the moment. With these seeds I now have all I need for next years planting and for a couple of sowings of late crops for this year.  It's a very good place to be, it means I don't have to worry about dashing about buying seeds while we are planning our move to Wales. 

 

Yes folks it's all going through at the moment.  Offer accepted, mortgage sorted and accepted and now it's all down to the solicitors to do their stuff ,there are no estate agents involved, so one less thing to worry about and the folks we are buying the house off are moving in with her family so no onward chain .... PHEW !!  So now we have many plans to make and things to sort out, but it really looks as though we will finally have our forever home in the very near future. :-)

 

Does little 'Happy Dance' around the room.

 

 

 

This is how to get the movements right, please feel free to join in.   :-)

 

Sue xx

 

 

It's now ......

 

It's now isn't it, the best bit of the Summer.  

 

We have had just enough hot days to love the sun and the heat but not moan, because we will ... we always do it's the British way!!   Just enough water left in the soil that the plants are not drooping before our eyes and demanding watering when we are at our hottest and tired-est.

 

Now really is the time to enjoy it.  To down tools for the hottest part of the day and do jobs in the cool of the house or snooze away an hour on the patio if we are that lucky.  And that is just what we did this weekend.

 

 

Everywhere is lush and green without that full, dusty over-blowness that will come by the end of the month.  My lavender garden is coming into full bloom and the bees are loving it.  I stand amongst the plants, pulling out the odd weed, nothing to taxing now in the heat of the day, the sound of their buzzing fills the air and the dragonflies whizz by on their way to the pond.

 

It calms the soul.

 

There is the second tin bath that used to live behind the old shed catching rainwater for the greenhouse, now turned over and drying out after it's many years of service.  I hope to be able to take the baths with us when we go, I'll have to have a word with our landlord.

 

 

The planted Tin Bath is doing well, the Radishes have all been eaten and I have just planted a new row (I must remember to add 12p to the planting tally to keep things straight on the sidebar), leaving more space for the Spring Onions this time, they are still pathetic little hairs of green, the poor things have been starved of sunshine by those big blowsy radishes for too long. 

 

We have no radish to eat at all at the moment bad planning and laziness on my part I fear, a good veggie gardener always sows little and often, I have phases and gluts, oh well there's always something to eat now so it's not too bad.

 

 

But really at the moment it's all about the Strawberries :-)

 

Eating with the seasons means making the most of what is there, no hardship at all when what is there are luscious big red juicy strawberries.  Usually I would be jam making and sauce making to preserve their deliciousness for Winter but this year we are eating what we have while we have it.  With the move creeping closer we are aiming to empty completely and then switch off the big chest freezer, so I am fighting every urge to pop more things in.

 

A bowl of strawberries each night is a fine reward for a day spent weeding and tending, and while they last we will enjoy.

 

Sue xx