end of summer but fun still to had

So I haven't been keeping up with the blogging due to suddenly been struck with a condition (spinal myoclonus) which means my body is constantly twitching, jerking, spasming (!) (haven't decided which is the best and socially acceptable description yet!) So my life is rather consumed by this at the moment but not one to curl up in a corner in the face of adversity, sometimes I do, I have tried to laugh in the face of it. Spent over a week in hospital having various tests and drugs offered to me to see if anything would have any affect, including botox. Botox, WOW! go for it and if there's any left over use it for the serious frown I have rapidly developed. No such luck, it all gets pumped into my abdomen and guess what has no bloody affect what so ever, so anyone out thinking of going down the botox route think again and enjoy your frown.

My mobility has also being affected, can't drive, can't walk very far, so along with a dear friend, Becs, who I think just to make me feel less lonely decided to break her ankle around the same time, came up with a cunning plan to get mobile for a day and enjoy some late summer sunshine. The cunning plan involved visiting a local National Trust property, Ickworth House, Bury St Edmunds, highly recommended. We were delivered to aforementioned stately home had a spot of lunch before heading off in search of our wheels. To our delight and barely contained excitement we were told that of course we were entitled to the free use of the mobility scooters, just sign here listen to the instructions and away we go. The requirement to contain my fit of giggles made my medical condition appear even worse and therefore received sympathetic looks from those passing by. Once away from public view and those in a worse state than ourselves we were able to screech and giggle until the tears smudged the mascara! We then decided that photos would have to be taken and were joined by Becs mother to be the official photographer. At this point, unable to contain our amusement, we started to receive some looks of "how very dare they" but unperturbed we carried on our merry way even taking them off road to catch the best views. Finally exhausted from our merriment the fresh air and beautiful sunshine we returned the scooters and plan our next day out with scooter mobility. So my top tip if you can't beat them join them!

more barmy than balmy

So here in Blighty we are not experiencing a balmy summer but we are experiencing a "barmy" summer which wasn't part of the plan. So what to do when the weather isn't playing ball......take up knitting......might as well make a start on hat and scarf collection for the autumn. My sis-in-law has being doing this and could be termed as slighty obsessive but then comes up with the cunning plan of a business which involves her passion for knitting and she has just launched a website selling all things knitting, www.cafeknit.com

Anyway back to the barmy summer, the only thing that seems to be benefiting from the rain are my tomatoes which seem to be doubling in size by the day, the only problem is they remain very green, I'll be looking for a recipe for fried green tomatoes at this rate. Over the garden fence the apples are also soaking up all the rain and doulbing in size, I can feel another scrumping expedition coming on!

oh I do like to be beside the seaside

My family have an annual get together in the summer over a weekend and the favorite meeting point is the seaside, suits everyone of every age, which is a pretty big acheivement as we are quite a large clan. So, having hired a very nice beach hut for the occasion, we all turned up with more provisions to see us through at least a week and the hope and prayers that the sun would shine. There is something very comforting about the Bristish seaside, it doesn't matter that the sun isn't shining or that it's blowing a force 6 gale we still get the deck chairs out, some of us still put the swim suits on and venture into the muddy looking ocean and kites are flown. All this was done and more, sausages were cooked, tea was drunk, cake was eaten and we all took to the beach for a game of cricket when the sun finally made an appearance. A day at the seaside, who needs St Tropez, Ibizia or the likes, give me Frinton on Sea anytime.

tommies, courgettes & ....dwarf beans

It's been a while, the problem is the sun keeping shining and I keep getting distracted by it, in a good way, I think. So a progress report on all things growing, the beans are performing and have picked my first few handfuls which is the most pleasing thing to do especially when you pick and cook all within minutes. Along with the beans I have been getting a great deal of pleasure from my courgettes.......they are bloody delicious and I have managed to conume every part of the plant, the flowers stuffed with a ricotta & mint mix and deep fried in a tempura batter along with the leaves again in a tempura batter and the courgette itself chargrilled with peppers on a griddle. I now have a new obsession in the form of my tomatoes which are starting to bare fruit which are growing by the day. Over the garden fence the allotments are also overgrown with all things vegetable and fruit and flowers. The other weekend the urge to going scrumping became too strong and with the back up of a couple of friends we hopped over the garden fence ( through the gate actually, but sounds more in the spirit of scrumping to say we went over the garden fence!) armed with a couple of containers to pick some black currants, rasberries and anything else that was so ripe if it wasn't picked there and then it would have gone to waste! Of course the minute we pick our first berry a neighbour, keen allotment keeper, comes out and catches us red handed, but in the spirit of what is so great about my local allotments is he helped us with our scrumping and disappeared for a couple of minutes only to return with a couple of bags full of other goodies. He also suggested that I might like to take on a plot on the allotment, which ideally I would love to do but I know how much hard work goes into growing all the produce and it's not the same when you scrump your own fruit and veg! All in all, another way to spend a perfect balmy summer day.

civic duty

The season of the summer fetes & fayres are upon us.

Last weekend I attended and helped out at a local village fete, on the teas & cake stall, the best place to be! I'm becoming a big fan of the village fete, since moving back to the country I have attended various village fetes and it's a great place for bumping into people you haven't seen for years, indulging in the odd cream tea & cake and supporting the local community, if the sun shines then it's great way to spend an afternoon. Aswell as helping out on with the teas & cakes I also entered a photo competition and even managed to win, I was chuffed with this result as the last time I won anything in the village was the year of the silver jubilee!

So, wherever you are get along to a local fete or fayre, take part in anyway you can and feel a sense of community.

call of nature

I mentioned in a previous entry about there being more to life than watching and waiting for my beans to sprout, well they have and for a split second I was very satisfied with my life and my beans, if only life was as simple as watching your beans grow!

Another project which has been evolving over the last year or so is the creation of a pond in my parents garden, my Mother decided she would really like to have an oasis for wildlife etc, this came as a result of them purchasing some land at the bottom of an already large garden and then wondering what to do with it. Several ideas were floated, get a goat, a donkey, some sheep, put some bee hives on the land. Eventually the idea of a pond was settled upon, despite the protestations of my Father who could only see a hole in the ground which would take more than water to fill. We had a pretty large hole dug according to my design, the design process involved me directing a bemused local man with digger, scratching of chins, cups of tea etc etc, I like to think of the process as being an organic one! We ended up with a relatively large hole in the ground, this wasn't going to be some half hearted ornamental affair, this was going to the wildlife oasis my Mother had wished for!

Leap forward to present time, the pond has taken shape, fish have appeared from nowhere, water has risen then fallen then risen and is falling again due to lack of rainfall and all the local wildlife using it as a watering hole. Plants have been planted and take shape momentarily, I say momentarily because as soon as any plant gets established and healthy buds appear and are on the cusp of blooming the bloody deer take the opportunity to munch their way through every bud and tender leaf. Steps have been taken with some degree of success, the chosen method being the use of stocking filled with human hair put on stakes around the plants, the deer get a whiff and stay away. However the scent of the hair does wear off and the second it does the deer return to fill their boots. I got a call from my Mother the other day to inform me of the latest developement on the deer versus them front. My Father woke one morning at dawn to answer the call of nature whilst doing so he looked out of the bathroom window only to spy a herd of deer in the garden making their way towards the pond, not a care in the world other than my parents cat, Kitty, attempting to stalk them. Not to be defeated my Father dressed in nothing but his pants races into the garden waving his arms like a mad man trying to herd them out of the garden. Meanwhile my Mother wakes from her slumber and wonders where the old man is and meets him coming back in behaving like he's really lost the plot, once she realises what the commotion is she gets some clothes on, fearful of being spotted by the neighbours and joins him in madness chasing the herd down the field waving a tea towel at them, that'll show em! So it's no more touchy feely approach to keep the deer away, I think every electronic device is to be invested in for the sake of the plants, sod the rest of the wildlife!

up in them there hills

Got the chance for a few days in North Wales, the sun still shone which made the long journey worth while. For such a comparatively small island the UK is nothing but painfull to navigate by road, it took nearly 7 hours and several bouts of road rage to reach my destination but it was definetly worth it. Stayed in Portmeirion, the creation of Welsh architect Clough Williams-Ellis, for many years this place was seen as the folly of one man & the back drop for the television series The Prisoner but now it can be seen as a developement which was ahead of it's time dealing with aesthetic issues and enviromental issues. It does have another advantage of being situated in a stunning setting and having a micro climate which on fine days the meditarrenean couldn't beat, well worth a visit. It is also the perfect base for taking advantage of Snowdonia National Park and the miles of stunning beaches, so as a destination of a few balmy summer days North Wales gets a nod.

things are hotting up

So we got some balmy summer days at last, a whole week of it which also included a weekend which meant all roads leading to the coast were clogged. I had a much better idea which involved lying on my back in the garden with a decent supply of reading matter; weekend papers, fictional novel and a self help book, the last supposedly to assist me in visualising aspects of my life in a creative manner, some that know me would say I do a pretty good job of doing that already without the self help material it's called day dreaming, living in cloud cuckoo etc etc.

A few days later I took part in a charity walk around the grounds of a local stately manor, in aid of breakthrough breast cancer. The sun shone and decked out in something pink to keep with the spirit of the event myself, friends and about 90 other women and dogs ( actual dogs, no metaphor) we set out at a nice leisurely pace for what should have been 11 miles but myself and friends found an excuse to do 8 miles and retire to the walled garden of the manor to drink wine. It's the taking part that counts not the completing!

Back in the garden I've planted some green beans and spent more time than is healthy watching the soil waiting for some sign of life, keep you updated on this one.......note to self more to life & balmy summer days than waiting for your beans to sprout.

rhubarb, rhubarb

Cor blimey, what a scorcher!!

Well for one day at least and at least it occurred on the weekend which meant all hands to the fork and spade and start digging. Bloody weeds, the thing is they are very cunning in their tactics for survival, either they make sure they get very up close and personal with the plants you want to keep making their extraction almost a medical procedure or another option is to have a root system so complex and far reaching I need a sat nav to negotiate them or the third option is to disguise themselves as some pretty flower making me feel bad about wrenching them from the soil, but I am becoming hardened to their ploys and will take no prisoners. Slugs also fall into this category, but they have made no effort to disguise themselves maybe by wearing a wig and moustache, their only ploy is to come out when your back is turned. As no effort is made with a cunning disguise I have no sympathy so resort to using the slug pellets in a liberal fashion to protect my property.

On a more positive front in the garden the first crop of rhubard has been harvested, I think the humble rhubarb is the most self sufficient of fruit and veg you can have in the garden, every year without fail and with minimum fuss and attention my rhubard supplies me with more rhubarb than I can poke a stick at and its uses are endless. Are your pots and pans a bit stained and limescaled, boil up some rhubarb in them and come up sparkling!

On that note I'm off to make some rhubarb crumble and get my pans sparkling!

over the garden fence

What the ......... is going on. Mid week I was sat outside having lunch, wearing a T-SHIRT! This weekend back to triple layering and wearing a wooly hat, not quite what I had in mind for our balmy summer days, hoping it's a temporary blip.

Looking out over the allotments, which earlier this week were a hive of activity with preparation of vegetable plots, gave me a cunning idea to extract some expert tips on all things fruit and vegetable, will share them when this occurs.

Keep warm!

spring has sprung

So far so good, marked the occasion by mowing the lawn, this was made all the more remarkable by the fact the the lawn mower started first time, it's never done this since the day I bought it!

Usually spend half an hour pulling shoulder out of its socket, try kicking the mower, a try and tested engineering technique, then checking there is fuel in it to discover there isn't, filling it, getting hopeful that I have solved the problem. By now a small group has gathered over the garden fence, garden backs on to a healthy and active allotment. Helpful suggestions are offered, "have you checked the fuel?", yes, "you'll have a problem with the diaphram" , this was news to me, being unawares of the anatomy of a lawnmower. After a few more "helpful" suggestions the final one is "try giving it a kick". Genius...still no response.

Trade it in for a more reliable model, never, that would be far too simple a solution!

Anyone for a cup of tea!

something for the weekend!

Try this for a tasty brunch.

Poached egg topped with chorizo, peppers and tomatoes

Ingredients (single serving)

1 egg
olive oil
handful of thinly sliced chorizo
1/2 red or green pepper
4 cherry tomatoes
handful of fresh parsley
ground pepper
tasty toast

Here's what you do

Bring pan of water to boil for you poached egg. Add a littl olive oil to a frying pan, chop up your pepper and add to the frying pan, fry for a couple of minutes on a low heatm add halved cherry tomatoes and thinly sliced chorizo, let this all cook together and turn your attention to the egg and toast. Poach your egg and toast your toast, by the time they are both ready the chorizo & co will be just right, add your handful of parsley and some ground pepper.

Serve on toast with the chorizo & co on and around, looks great and tastes fantastic.

Perfect accompaniment, a damn fine cup of coffee, the weekend papers and the rest of the day to look forward to!

countdown

Balmy summer days are getting closer, so we're getting ready to enjoy every minute of them! British summer time officially starts this weekend, 30th March, remember the clocks go forward an hour. It may not seem like it, but the days are getting that little bit longer, the winter hibernation ends and we stick our heads out of the window and sniff the air! We are going to share our ideas on what you can do on those balmy summer days and evenings, hope you enjoy them and if you have any you would like to share with us we would love to hear them. 1 DAY TO GO!