Its Been A Yucky Week, Blech!!!!

OK gone is the confidence and bravado I felt in my last posting, this past week has been plain yucky with very little productive activities achieved.

So I'll just get to the point....

Monday

Started off promising and I was full of plans for the week but something was amiss, the little one seemed to be having trouble staying awake and kept wanting to sleep on me, somehow my mummy radar was a bit askew and I didn't really take stock of the situation till just after noon when I realised all I had gotten in her all day was a half cup of herbal tea and four mouthfuls of porridge (her favourite). Around 1:00pm I suddenly realised in her current state that she would not have the energy to walk with me to pick up her sister from school and was just planning to call the school to let my daughter know she will have to walk herself home (don't worry we have a password set up for these sort of situations). As I was about to make the call the poor thing woke with really bad stomach ache and crying for tea to settle it, so with this heavy writhing four year old in my arms I went downstairs to attempt to make a cup of tea (at the back of my mind with my mummy radar finally working at 100% efficiency, I knew what was coming). So while I struggled to get a tea cup out of the drawer I suddenly felt her tummy start to convulse against me, which had me quickly sprinting to the sink with me begging her not to throw up on my shoulder.

So that was her lot for the next few hours, not that she had anything to throw up as her tummy was rendered empty after the first to times. Sometime late evening I got her to eat a couple slices of dry toast and drink a cup and a half of fennel tea which seemed to set her right for a full night sleep.

One of the things I promised myself was to create one item per day for my Blogshop, I am pleased to say I did achieve this Monday night all be it quite late when I went to bed.

Oh!! I almost forgot to fill you in on the review of another saved winter squash which was opened this most eventful day for dinner.
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Crown Prince

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It was marginally hard enough to get into, had to ask hubby to help as I simply wasn't up to wrestling with a squash that afternoon. There was very little skin and a lot of flesh which was neither too wet or dry, It was beautifully sweet but not sickeningly so and held its shape when roasted. I also sauteed it and added it to stews later in the week and it also did not melt away. Everyone enjoyed it, it stored very well, changing its colour slightly during storage from a slate grey to more of a washed out peachy orange hue. I will definitely grow it again but from next year though as I have new ones to trial this year.

Tuesday

Not much to add except that I spent a lovely sunny spring day flat on my back on the sofa with listless four year old on my chest slowly getting back her appetite wanting mummy to cuddle and watch one inane Disney movie after the other, oh the joy that is being a mummy.

Thankfully little one was pretty much back to her old self by dinnertime, 24+hr bug confirmed and is on its way, wish I knew where it came from, (although I have a sneaky suspicion that with all the lovely weather we have been having and the resulting increased outside play and pretend tea parties that ensued over the weekend prior to tummy upset, something unsavoury may have been put in the mouth when pretend play may have become too realistic. Hmm! It probably won't hurt to have them wash all their tea party toys with soap this coming weekend).

I did get a photo of a cheeky squirrel sunning itself on the garden fence.

And here are the last photos of the early spring flowers, the resulting rain and wind at the end of the week have finished them off now.

Anyhoo!! I completed another item for the shop, yeah for me, I'm sticking to my schedule (gave myself a pat on the back, as I climb into bed after 1:00am again).

Wednesday

Spent all day in London with the family sorting out new passports, would normally be able to do this via the post but my government are issuing new machine readable passports so for the first reissue we needed to be there in person for an interview and to have our photos taken by some special camera.

The whole day was shot and so was I, the loft studio didn't see me that night.

Thursday

Can't blooming remember what I did Thursday, I better check my camera and see if I took any pictures.....

Ah! Yes! I took some pictures and check to see what was germinating, which was nothing much to report, except a few radishes and an emerging bean in the greenhouse. I also cut and fed the lawn which was just in time for some afternoon shows that came later that day. I must remember to go over it soon and root out a few large leaf perennial weeds and maybe scrape out and make some sort of dent in the ever growing patch of moss.

Anyway here are some photos I took that day:

Forget-Me-Nots in full bloom

Lady's Cockoo Foot with no competition blooming as you would never see it in the woods.

Water Avens heavy with blooms.

I love daisies, these are growing in the lawn.

Ladybugs are still very much about.

The first of the Speckled Woods are here again.

Busy Honeybee.

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Pictures Of Things To Come:

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Iris in bud

Granny's Bonnet in bud

Wild Strawberries fattening up.

Apple blossoms in bud, not much on the tree though, so a poor harvest I think this year.

Weeds to come, all be it pretty ones.

Germinating Dwarf French Bean in the green house.

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Oh! I did make it to the loft and caught up with my quota and made two items for the Blogshop, plus made it to bed at 12.30, result!

Friday

Although being official laundry day, my hubby was home so while he looked after the laundry and the little one, I stole a couple hours at the allotment, my intentions were to plant out the young onion plants and water whatever needed watering.

On arriving at the allotment's parking area I found some discarded chicken wire and lawn surround, which after checking with the person who had thrown it out, I bagged it for myself.

I will use the surround around some of the beds next time I visit and I used the chicken wire to quite crudely cover the newly planted onion plants against bird and fox interference.

I didn't have enough young onion plants to fill the half a bed space but another plot holder had some extra onion sets going spare which I gladly accepted to fill the remainder of the space available.

Items made for shop = 0 :(

Saturday

My eldest and I woke with a sore throat, mine was mild and hers was not too bad, so off to drama classes the three of us went. Well by the end of the day the eldest was feeling a lot worse but mine still felt like just a tickle that I hoped would simply pass me by.

While at Drama classes I got this cool shot of a dandelion seed which appeared to be floating on the wind, (but it isn't anyone has ideas on how I got this shot, I'll reveal the answer after a few of you leave comments on your guesses).

Went to bed early ie 11.30pm as I planned on visiting the local carboot fair on Sunday with my eldest if she was up for it, (it was the first boot fair of the year in my area). So no items were made for the shop again, now down 2 items for my week's quota :( :(

Sunday

Both my eldest and I awoke by 08:00am with very sore throats but still wanted to cycle to the fair, the weather on the other hand had a much different idea, with very heavy rainfall forcasted and playing out all day, bummer.

My sore throat gradually worsened to a general feeling of unwellness and by the evening I was in bed with fever as well, thankfully my eldest improved as the day went by.

Shop item quota down by 3 :( :( :(

Monday

I awoke to a less sore throat but a general feeling of lethargy and some lingering fever spells, so spent the majority of the day asleep under lots of lovely covers. Thankfully my eldest had no further complaints and seemed to be over the worst of it. I also improved as the day went by and by the evening I felt a lot more like my normal self.

Decided to have an early night as I would have to wake early to get eldest off to school so shop item quota now down by 4 :( :( :( :(

On a happier note, I am pleased to share with you the news of a nesting pair of birds in my garden. I first noticed activities as much as three weeks ago, when I spotted a male great tit checking out this old terracotta urn I have sitting as decoration in the herb patch.

About a week later I spotted him again going in but I didn't see any nesting material in his beak so wasn't sure if he was going to set up a home there or not.

Then last week both my mom and I spotted him visit the urn at least three times in a 80 minute period and I deduced that he was probably feeding a brooding female partner.

Then yesterday while my mum stood at the kitchen window she said there were now two birds visiting quite regularly (which is just what i needed to force me off the sofa and into the land of the living - a good dose of wildlife watching).

I got a few pics of them leaving and entering the nesting sight, please enjoy them. I will try to get a recording of the chicks but can't make any promises as I don't want to freak the parents out. But hope to at least get a video or series of photos of the emerging fledglings in approx 10 days time or so.

Well its Tuesday morning and I am feeling much better, I'll take a wander in the garden later and see what has benefited from all the rain and hopefully sow some seeds. Maybe even visit the lotty this evening on my bike ride to water seedlings that are still covered and so would not have benefited from Sunday's downpour.

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Flower garden this morning, all green now that early spring flowers are on their way out.

No More White Stuff

Yep, the snow is gone as off the weekend, well there still is the odd lump of ice sitting around but basically the landscape is back to its dreary grey dead looking winter-self.
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I had planned to make it the allotment Sunday gone to plant out some very late and yet to go in garlic bulbs but I got as far the back garden to survey the aftermath of all that snow and ice we had recently.
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There is a lot of mushy foliage to tidy up and I finally got to harvest some of my parsnips (they are on the right hand side of the picture) which as you can see were more top than root. There is a still some carrots in the ground, which tasted very sweet but was badly damaged by carrot root fly grubs, the parsnips which were planted n the same bed also had some root fly damages but not nearly as much. I also pulled for the first time some winter radish called 'Mooli Radish' which grew pretty magnificently but I had not harvested before as I didn't quite know what to do with it. The prolonged icy weather and sitting snow on the ground rendered the first 3" of the radishes inedible as it was obviously damaged by the freezing temps (you can see the damage better in the picture where they have been washed), the part of the root which was in the ground was fine to use though.
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I found this surprise a mushy smelly cauliflower head. Now I did grow some purple head cauliflower this year for the first time but the plats were badly infected with whitefly early last year and as such didn't amount to much. Near the end of summer the plants suddenly seem to catch themselves so I didn't have the heart to rip it out (yes I know I'm a wimpy excuse for a gardener but I'm working on getting more hard nail). I wanted to see if it would have produced a head regardless of how small. Well as you can see it did and though small it would have certainly been a fair amount to add to a dish of mixed sautéed veges. Sadly though I didn't know it was there and so we never got to taste home grown cauliflowers to see if we'd enjoy it (no one in our house cares for cauliflower). I'll try growing it again this year again just a few plants for taste testing before we decide whether it will become a regularly grown vege.
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Last night I chopped my way into another winter squash, now it is suppose to be onion squash but it is like no onion squash I ever saw pictured so I haven't really got a clue as to what its is. As you can see from the picture it is very pretty on the outside and on the inside its flesh is thick and it smelled very sweet iykwim. Its not huge nor is it small, its about the size of a large crown prince squash.
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All ready to go in the oven.

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Well all the root vege and a quarter of the squash was chopped up and roasted in olive oil with a small onion, herbs and seasoning. Everything tasted very nice but the radish was a bit strong and sometimes a bit bitter, I think I will try it next time in a stir-fry but finely sliced. The squash was absolutely lovely it would be a good candidate for an American style pumpkin pie as it is very sweet. It didn't maintain its firmness like butternut after baking and so I think it would melt away in stews, which is ideal if you are making soup. Its seeds were huge and white and will probably lend well to roasting.
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Well that's it for now, hopefully I will find or make some time to go to the allotment to plant out the garlic bulbs I bought on Saturday and hopefully I'll get a nice crop from them. I am still busy making new pieces and items for my blogshop but I'll let you all know when they are ready.

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Thanks for popping by and Ta! Ta! For now.

Golly! What A Lot of Snow

Well we have been living in a snowy wonderland since Tuesday Night. Schools were closed Thursday and Friday, my mum was stuck up in London by relatives from the Tuesday till Friday evening and as it is I don't see her be able to get to work on Monday coming. My husband on Wednesday evening 20 minutes away from home was stranded in the sudden heavy snowfall and remained that way for three and a half hours. getting home after nine in the evening.

The kids have been beyond themselves with playing in the snow and hubby who also suddenly had extra days off joined in with them. I though have not felt the need to go out in the snow but had decided yesterday to go for a walk in the woods today to take some photos and to enjoy the beauty but as you can see in the video above the weather has not been conducive to leisurely walks in the woods. From day break till now the winds have been blowing hard and the snow hasn't stopped falling.

Prior to all the snow we have had, there were signs of spring on its way with the emergence of tip of daffodil leaves piercing the soil surface. There are now under at least 10" of snow.

On a completely different note; another winter squash review. Pictured above is:- Kobocha. It is a small winter squash very sweet and not at all stringy, the texture of the flesh is very dense, with very fat seeds that should lend well to roasting (though I didn't try). It is much sweeter than butternuts and I think it would make a great American pumpkin pie.

I cooked it roasted and sauteed with other veges, both ways worked well and I think this is one I would be happy to grow again.

Oh! I almost forgot I have finally bitten the bullet and made public my other blog Me But A Little More In Depth, so feel free to check it out and if you ever want to go to it again the links can be found in the right hand column under About Me

Day 15 of the Advent Season and The First Hard Frost of Winter 2009

Floral Headbands

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The girls got some more hair accessories from the Advent Calender today, they both loved them and the little one didn't take hers out till bath time and the eldest has plans to wear hers to her school dance on Friday.
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The bible story they heard is pictured on the right.

Well if I wasn't sure I am now, winter is definitely here. We woke this morning to our first hard frost, everything is coated in a layer of icy crystals.

Plant foliage, seed heads and fallen leaves taken on a wintry beauty, which helps to take your mind off the numbing cold but only just! The birdbath and mini ponds with their frozen surfaces needed melting too.

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The greenhouse door was frozen shut, when I finally wrestled myself in, I found standing water frozen and frost damage to my yakon and tomato plants (those leaves are frozen and

were crinkly to touch).

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There was a small ray of warmth, this chocolate cosmos (given to me by a thankful freecycler back in the summer) which I am attempting to over winter in the greenhouse was blooming! It sadly had no sent but I would think it would need the warmth of the sun to gets its oils going.

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Well with the definite return of the cold weather, I decided it was time to start feeding the birds. I normally start to feed the birds with the return of the first hard frost, I generally don't tidy the garden too much at the end of autumn, so prior to this first hard frost there was lots of foraging foods for the birds to find amongst slightly tall grass, fallen leaves, wind fallen apples, numerous seed heads, etc.

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So with the ground becoming frozen and the temps getting to -1C during the night and barely getting above 1C during the day, its time to help out the feathered friends of the garden. So I have put up three feeders to begin with, a fat ball made by myself with lard, rowan berries and seeds, a regular bird feeder with wild bird food and another feeder(not pictured) filled with nyjer seed to attract goldfinches and sikens.

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For dinner tonight I used some of the pumpkin 'Snowman' in a rice and beans dish, I found the taste quite bland not much sweetness all. There is three quarters of it left in the fridge and I'll try it i at least two other types of dishes before making a definite judgement on whether I'll grow it again but at the moment its not looking too good. Interesting to look at though.

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Today's Trini Christmas song reminds us that not everyone enjoys a merry Christmas but be aware the singer I believe is getting his comeuppance for possible past bad behaviour but a surprised ending. Its a very catchy tune and is another local favourite sung by a Calypsonian with a parang influence to the music.

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Crazy (his stage name) - Yvonne