Lockdown v3: Day 27

Aka Laura-fails-to-make-batter-puddings day. WHY ARE THEY SO HARD. Aunt Bessies to the rescue!

This morning I did some pyjama gardening. I have put wooden stakes in at the bottom of each leg on the arch and cable tied them on to give it a bit of support. I then tied some pieces of plastic mesh over the arch so that when I do grow things up it, they’ll be able to clamber and entwine. The mesh has large holes and poses no danger to birdies.

I have also done a large ceramic pot with gladioli corms as they were starting to sprout in the bag, so I have put loads in a pot, and put a deep layer of grit over the top to hopefully act as a bit of insulation. The paperwhite narcissus that I treated myself to before christmas are finally starting to show – I accidently knocked the pot over the other day but saw a green shoot, so covered them over again. There’s only five bulbs in the pot but there is a shoot emerging! So dramatic. It’s by my finger tip in the pic. Look how good it is!

The M&S daffs in their pint glasses have started to open today and I love them already. It’s also all very symmetrical on the mantel, which was all 100% fully planned. Can’t have a wonky mantel.

There are signs of life in the garden. The first snowdrop has opened under the acer (I planted loads under the acer as I wanted a carpet of snowdrops). Can I get a good, non-blurry photo of it? Can I fuck. The clematis has new growth at almost every node. The mint is putting out new growth so I cut back the stalks.

I took the lids off the plant greenhouse boxes today to let the plants breathe a bit.

Exercise today: niet. I have been dealing with a dodgy shoulder for a few weeks now – I had a knot and it just doesn’t want to go, but the past couple of days it has been really sore and I can’t turn my head all the way to the left. There’s no way to get comfortable, but I had decided it was my bodies way of saying ‘no more push ups!!’ and who am I to argue. Tomorrow I shall start doing some gentle stretches to try and ease it out.

Dinner today: big fat roasty. TWO ATTEMPTS AT PUDDINGS and I failed both times. People – tell me your secrets!! I did the hot oven, hot oil, cold batter from the fridge etc etc. Both batches were raw on the inside. I have had to ventilate the kitchen twice today due to smoke. Always keep a bag of Aunt Bessies in the freezer, kids.

I made a January collage, primarily for instagram but I am posting it on here too.

Lockdown v3: Day 26

Tweaked my blog yesterday, have you noticed? I changed the main header photo (Lyme Regis, David's birthday day trip, 2020). I have also changed the font and stuff.

Today I had to go out again to collect my prescription. I dropped by the allotment to get some timber from my shed and to feed the birds. I only topped up all the fat balls on Thursday but they were nearly all gone again. My stocks have run out now, but I am waiting for a new order to come. 150 balls and 12kg of seed.

Spent a wee bit of time in a layby on the A491 today as my car steamed up horribly quick when the temperature dropped so I had to crawl around the M5 J4 island peering through a small clear gap in the middle of the windscreen, before pulling over to let the car clear herself properly and fully.

The allotment is v wet. It’s worse than it was before with new puddles. The bubble in the pond liner has gone down – I suspect full of water. Hoorah.

The planters out the front are looking really good and full. The snapdragons have refused to die, the bulbs are coming up, and the tulip basket is also growing well too.

I went into M&S today to try and find ground cinnamon – none in Sainsburys at all – and I got the last jar. Possibly the last jar in the whole of South Birmingham. No I can’t grate a cinnamon stick onto my Weetabix. I also bought a couple of bunches of daffs – not usually a bunch of flowers person but I fancied them. They’re now on the mantel, in two pint glasses, because I don’t do vases either. The avocado is looking good.

Exercise today: hah.

Dinner: sketti and meatballs with homemade pasta sauce, and a beer. It was a good sauce. I used fresh herbs (chives, basil, thyme, and rosemary) and half a little bottle of red wine. We put the sketti on top this week for a change. Ooooooh lockdown shenanigans! 

My tendonitis is being a dick and I have put away all the yarn and the blue blanket so that I am not tempted to just do a few rows. I keep swapping bandages – one is a lot tighter than the other (if I keep it on for an hour my thumb goes tingly) and have been taking ibuprofen. I am not good at resting.

The cress is growing well. I have a loofah! The first seed has germinated – look by my thumb in the pic. There's two seeds in four pots so I should get eight loofah plants. Momma Pat got me another box from Wilkos so although I said I wasn’t going to sow any more seed……

Lockdown v3: Day 25

A gardnin' day today. I;

·       Built and installed the new arch from Wilkos. It's tall.

·       Planted a bleeding heart and a chocolate cosmos underneath the arch

·       Lots of flower buds coming on the bulbs now, including quite a few snowdrops

·       Sorted out pots from the first plastic tub – some were looking ok and some not so ok. I have sorted the plants out and will reuse the compost.

·       Used my new 40-pot tray from Wilkos and sowed onion, chard, pea, mint, tomato, verbena, and amaranthus. These are now in the box, and the box is upstairs.

·       Did chard, onion, pea and summat else that I’ve forgotten in trays but have left them outside with no cover.

·       Lots of seedlings in the second box are growing well! I have two rhubarb seedlings. I’ve never grown rhubarb from seeds before but I somehow have a packet in my collection.

·       Also thousands of lobelia seedlings (because they are tiny and it was hard to sow one per compartment).

·       Swept the slabs because I made a mess

·       Spring onion, pak choi, and strawbs from the drip trays in the kitchen are now potted up and in a fat ball tub to take their chances.

A good day! I sat and watched the birds for a while too. Today I have seen woodpeckers, crows, pigeon, gull, nuthatch, blue tit, great tit, long tailed tit, and I have heard the song thrush again.

I have downloaded more 28 day challenge things. I am going to work on my flexibility over the coming weeks – I cannot scratch between my own shoulder blades at the mo – and I am also going to concentrate on eating better. 

With that in mind:

Exercise today: none. Heh.

Dinner today: I have soup and beer bread. David hasn’t eaten yet because he has had a funny tummy. Too much cheese.

Most of the photos are from the garden today but I have very much enjoyed pottering around and getting bits done.

My wrist is still strapped and I desperately want to start the stripy socks but it just isn’t worth making the tendonitis worse. I am going to need a working wrist for work over the coming weeks to move compost and build raised beds.

No more seed sowing for a while......!

Lockdown v3: Day 24

I left the house today!!! Big news.

But first, I had another awful nights sleep and got up at 7:15am. I came downstairs and set up the hammock because I didn’t want to curl up on the sofa. The knot has slipped so when I’m in the hammock, I’m basically sitting on the floor. I really need to lose some weight.

I have been to the allotment today because I couldn’t get there at the weekend. It is so horrifically flooded – again. It’s the worst I’ve ever seen it in the 11years that I’ve been there. I also noticed that there’s a pocket of air under the pond liner so it is bulging up above the water level, so that’s something else for me to fix in the summer.

There’s lots of bulbs coming up on the allotment and the first crocus is about to flower. I will plant even more next autumn. The hazel has female flowers coming too (the tiny pink anemone lookin’ thing).

Went shopping today, and the first load of things that I ordered yesterday morning have also arrived. Following the 1kg bread that bent my tray, I have bought a new heavy duty tray. My alpaca wool has arrived from the Isle of Wight to make stripy socks for David. When my wrist has healed. My new arch for the garden (tenner from Wilkos) has also come, and a load of seeds. I bought foxgloves and globe thistles, forgetting that I’ll plant them this year for them to flower next year. Wonder if we’ll still be in this house in 2022?

I have been having twinges of tendonitis and last night I couldn’t even sit without it hurting so I’ve had it strapped. No crochet for meeeee. I was just getting into the swing of doing the blue blanket too, and making good progress. It’s really difficult to not use your hand, especially when you are right handed and it’s the right wrist that’s gone.

The pak choi ends in the kitchen are starting to actually look like pak choi. Do I put them in compost now? Never tried it before so I have no idea. Tomo I will stick them in some compost and see what happens.

Exercise today: walking through slop and mud at the allotment. Apparently I have walked 1.5miles today. I have been really down on myself and after the hammock touched the floor today I have decided to actually make an effort and do stuff. I keep moaning about being a fatty but then I bake a whole lemon cake with buttercream and pretty much eat the entire thing myself. No more. I am going to lose weight this year.

Dinner today: fish n chips with mushy peas.

I saw Ms Taffula of Floofbottom today. She shouted at me (I think it translates as “why did you leave me?”). Momma P captured her and held her while I gave her tickles and a stroke. The cat, not Momma.

David bought me new slippers yesterday and sewed my old ones today, so even though I said I couldn't see how to fix them, he has gone and dunnit. So now I have two pairs of slippers. 

Got a new plant for the living room today and it has filled a gap perfectly.