Last day of the mo

As it is the last day of the month (and pinch of the punch day tomorrow) the mo will be going in the morning.

I am trying to persuade Nick to leave it and let a full set grow. I think he looks great impersonating a Mexican bandit but as I love fish fingers, I think he would make a good Captain Birdseye.

Nick also wants to send a massive 'Thank you' to everyone who donated to such an essential cause.

Mud wallowing

It has rained, rained and more rained for most of the weekend. Before it started we got out and put in two posts for the duck compound at home. I also started removing the soil from the raised bed having already taken out the top layer of blocks. The problem was that every time I dug up a plant, I came back from replanting it to find that Daisy had moved in a de-wormed the area.

As there has now been so much rain, all the ducks spend most of their time on the bed foraging in the mud. After three years the soil must be full of delicious treats and we have certainly noticed that they are eating less of their food so they must be filling up with bugs and grubs. Yummy!

The plant in this picture is a perenial wallflower which was in a three inch pot when I bought it last year. It is now huge and flowered throughout most of the year. I have taken it out and put in a huge pot. I will try taking some cuttings as it is a lovely addition to the garden with reasonable foliage and a splash of bright yellow flowers.

Wood delivery

We were down to our last few logs most of which were too big to fit in the stove so I arranged a delivery which arrived today. It is lovely seasoned hardwood so should burn hot and slow.

As we lost our logstore I decided that the area behind the pillar near the front door (where no plants will grow) would be ideal for a log store. It also means that we can go out in all weathers to get wood as it is under cover of the porch andthe overhang on the bay window so it will keep nice and dry there.

I did have a bit of a landslide at one point when the pile was getting a bit too high for me to reach the top but at least it doesn't block the door. One slight problem is that I have burried the bag of kindling so we may have to get another until we use up the pile.



The spookiest thing happened when I published this post. A google ad appeared for logs. Much more expensive than my local tree surgeon though so I will stick with G A Butler & Sons for the time being.

More from the sewing room

In my misery on Tuesday evening I took to the sewing room and decided to try to recreate summer. I think I will find some sort of wipeable backing for this one so that it can be used as a picnic rug.












I had also collected a random selection of fabrics in pink and duck egg blue so decided to just sew them together randomly and see what happened. It is amazing how quickly a pile of little squares and strips grows into a useful size.

One our of one cats surveyed said they prefer this one. It is now a screwed up messas as Angel decided to hide her pet mice under the edge and then roll around on it and wrap her and the mouse in it.

The ducks new home

This is the state of the wire on the front of the duck compound at the allotment. There is an equally large hole in the back where they must have decided to go out via Frank's allotment.

It is going to need a visit from Matt and a days work to get it usable again. The decision may be to make this into another fruit cage as we would like more current bushes. We will see how we feel in the Spring.














We have an area of the garden that doesn't get much sun so it is used for storage as well as the raised bed that is becoming my herb bed. We did have a small greenhouse in the corner but this was before we had two at the allotment so it became derelict. That went and this was destined to be our log store corner but it is the ideal spot for the duck house.

Although it didn't get much sun, we grew lovely tomatoes there. They were much later than the others and I was still picking them last week. We still have a dahlia in flower even through the ones at the allotment have been blackened by frost so it should be a nice warm sheltered spot for the ducks

The compost bin was Nick's cunning idea to keep logs dry. We have three spare plastic ones since we built the bank of wooden bins at the allotment so it was good to put it to some use. This will be moved to the otherside of the garden next to the green shed.



It was a good job that Nick made the trailer as we wouldn't have got the house in the back of the car. We managed to stand it in the trainer and get it into the garden via the gate into the lane. It fits perfectly with room to get round to clean it out and collect eggs.


We also brought home the hippo pond which is a bit lop sided at the moment but will do until we can dig out the raised bed and make them a bigger pond.









The ducks are very confused by what is going on and where they are so immediately went into the house for safety. They must have been a bit confused as to where their bedroom has gone as we had to take the two huts apart and only bring half of it. Now that we have only 8 there is plenty of room for them in this half.

I don't want to hear anybody say that white ducks are cowards. They were the first to come out and explore leaving the 4 non white ducks inside.

Angel and I have been keeping an eye on them throughout the day but they haven't strayed much and Angel can't understand what they are expecially as some are the same colour as her but are tall and thin and have funny noses.

As the weather was bad yesterday she spent most of the day sitting by the French doors watching them wondering why they didn't come in and get the warmth of the woodburning stove. Strange creatures!

Devastating news

Nick got to the allotment this morning to find that there had been a break in overnight. The sick people broke into the duck compound, ripping the roof and pulling the wire off the front. They somehow got Dixie out and Nick found her by the gate with her neck broken.

We have made the decision to bring the rest of them home for a while just in case they come back for the others. There are some sick people in this world.

Seasonal Fruit

If we follow what Gordon Ramsey says and only eat fruit that is in season, it must still be summer as we are still picking raspberries. They should have died back by now but some are still fruiting and still have more flowers.

How strange.

Straw bales

After wallowing in mud in the duck compound this morning, we took pity on they and went to Shapley Ranch to treat them to a bail of straw to spread around their so that they will have lovely warm feet.

I will be knitting them slippers next

What do I do with all these tomatillos

I was given four tomatillo plants in the sprint and planted them in a group in a spare space at the end of the onions. The reason for plantingthem in a group was that they were pot bound so I plonkedthem in a hole and put canes at an angle facing outwards. I did put cane toopers on the cane as you could easily take your eye out with outward facing canes.

Anyway... I though they would act like tomatoes and either wilt, get blight, or black end rot or not turn red - how wrong was I. I have already made six jars of tomatillo chutney (to use up a marrow as well) and still have a huge collander full.







They don't look much here but inside the papery skin there is a lovely fruit that looks just like a green tomatoe but it is citrussy in taste so no good for bolognaise.


I have been given this recipe so might have to give it a try:

Ingredients
10 tomatillos (husked), 1 small onion, chopped 3 cloves garlic, chopped 2 jalapeno peppers, chopped 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Place tomatillos in a nonreactive saucepan with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil. Simmer until tomatillos soften and begin to burst, about 10 minutes.
Drain tomatillos and place in a food processor or blender with onion, garlic, jalapeno peppers, cilantro, salt and pepper. Blend to desired consistency.

Movember update

Here is an update on how Nick's mo is coming along. I think it needs another week before it can be called a mo but I think he is heading for the Mexican Bandit look.

I am a bit worried about letting him go to the allotment in case the vermin destroyer is there and thinks he is trying to smuggle something in.

http://uk.movember.com/mospace/220345/

Fantastic buy at the auction

We treated ourselves to something at the auction. Lot No 960 was a framed picture signed by Jasper Carrott and we got it for a real bargain. We alwasy go through and note down the maximum we want to pay for something and are now very strict at sticking to it.

The picture is of a mature victorian lady in mourning dress and is signed 'It's Posh Spice without her make up' Jasper Carrott.

I love it so am going to get another piece of glass placed in front of the signature to protect it and it might go at the top of the stairs.

I miss my ducks

I haven't seen the ducks for ages as Nick lets them out on the way to work and it is getting dark so early, he puts them to bed on the way home.

The Campbells are going to keep us in eggs throughout the winter so the egg holder has four at the moment which I am going to use to make a pumpkin pie.

I used Jamie Oliver to make a dish of roasted pumpkin as he says that you can leave the skins on if they are thin so I gave it a try. He was right, they gave a lovely nutty taste. I jsut sliced and tossed in olive oil with a sprinkling of cumin. Yummy.

Comfy 's cat

I spent half an hour this morning finishing Katy quilt but it looks like somebody has made a prior claim to it so she may not get it after all.

Katy's lap quilt

I got a lovely piece of material from ebay with small panels of cats peeping out so made a quilt top for Katy. She wanted a small lap quilt so this was ideal. I made nine panels with a cat at the centre of each and bordered them with some lemon sheeting which I will also use for the backing.

I have used all the left over scraps to make one long strip which I will use for the binding. I just have to hope it is long enough to go all the way round. I will find out tomorrow!

The witching hour

A couple of months ago we bought a couldron from the auction. We have been told it is probably late 18th century and made of cast iron. This is where the problem lies - I can't lift it.

It was also in a poor state having been used as a fire pit, so Nick cleaned it up and blacked it to a matt finish.

We had to bring it in to the house and then add the coal, but it holds enough for about 4-5 days so it will have to stay where it is and just be topped up.

It looks great next to the fire with the log basket we bought in Tonbridge on the other side along with the copper art deco companion set.

It is like toast in here and the best thing we ever did getting the fire installed.

Angel is bored

It rained yesterday and Angel was bored as she couldn't get outside. At least she could keep me amuzed. I have started doing three hours work a day from home but only made it to one hour and had to give up today so it was good that she was around. Better than a board and plasticine.

She is so much fun and dives around the room playing with her toy mice and little cat. She actually sat on my lap for a while the other evening so maybe by the time the really cold weather comes she will be a lap cat.

She is showing off how tall she is - even though she hasn't got long legs like Tiger!









I finally finished my book cover last night. I used the previous piece for the back and made another for the front. This is very much a prototype as the sewing isn't great because I didn't make it long enough so it was a bit of a bodge job.

I now have a pattern and measurements for the real thing and will make the outside in one piece next time.

I need to make a perfect one and then I can start thinking about Christmas presents.








I was at least sensible enought to make it so that it would close. I have been caught out before with book covers that are fine laying flat but when you close the book they don't fit. Saying that, I was about 12 then so a few more years have made me wiser.

How to enjoy tea more

I have switched to decaf tea and coffee. I am sure I will get used to it but I am sure it is designed as a way to take away the little pleasures in life that are left. It must be healthy!

I found one way to enjoy tea even more. The concept was designed by Natalia Ponomareva from Russia. I bet the wings go up and down as you dip the bag. But you have to make the "tweet tweet" sounds yourself.

I found this item on Toxel.com where you can lose yourself for hours browsing and wondering how some peoples creative and lateral thinking minds work. I am so envious.

Make November Movember

A message from Nick:

Hi,

I am growing a moustache this year for Movember. I have decided to put down my razor for one month (November) and help raise awareness and funds for men's health - specifically prostate cancer.

What many people don't appreciate is that one man dies every hour of prostate cancer in the UK, more than 35,000 men will be diagnosed this year and that prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men in the UK. Facts like these have convinced me I should get involved and I am hoping that you will support me.

To donate to my Mo, you can either:

* Click this link http://uk.movember.com/mospace/220345/ and donate online using your credit card, debit card or PayPal account

* Write a cheque payable to 'The Prostate Cancer Charity - Movember', referencing my Registration Number 220345 and mailing it to: Movember - The Prostate Cancer Charity, First Floor, Cambridge House, Cambridge Grove, London, W6 0LE.

Movember is now in its third year here in the UK and, to date, has achieved some pretty amazing results by working alongside The Prostate Cancer Charity. Check out further details at: http://uk.movemberfoundation.com/research-and-programs.

If you are interested in following the progress of my Mo, click here http://uk.movember.com/mospace/220345/. Also, http://uk.movember.com has heaps of useful information.

Thank you

Nick