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Thursday 21 August 2014

1940's Weekend


As promised here is a glimpse of the lovely 1940's weekend in my home town last weekend. There were lots of people dressed as WW2 soldiers and nurses and a living camp with lots of people staying on site in authentic tents. There were others who looked very glamorous in their 1940's outfits.



There was a vintage fair and memorabilia of all kinds. 


There were even people demonstrating household tasks from the 40's.


There were also lots of vintage vehicles on display......



and even a Spitfire....


Unfortunately it was very cold and wet so I spent quite some time in the tea shop! I also had a look around the town and a few of the shops had made an effort to join in. The local hospice shop made a great job of it.



They were also offering a free sherry to their customers so that helped to keep me warm :))

All in all it was a good day. The only thing I was disappointed about was the tent where the dancing and the 40s fashion show was held was way too small and lots of us couldn't get in. I love the 40's music and was sad I couldn't watch the dancing. Never mind.... there's always next year.


Saturday 16 August 2014

Summer isn't over yet

The weather hasn't exactly been warm here but I am not ready to say goodbye to Summer just yet. I love all the different seasons but one of the things I love in Summer is the agricultural shows. I just love how English they are. I adore browsing around the competition tents full of cakes, biscuits, craft work, home produce and home grown veggies. Then there are the adorable animals, the dunk the farmer game, the tug of war and the tractor pull.  Here are some of the highlights for me this year...........

Where else can you get to see all of this in one place???

Gorgeous quilting


Afternoon tea competition

Beautiful rare breed sheep

Aren't they adorable??

They were so friendly too!!

and the incredible Lamb National....

complete with jumps ..........

and jockeys!!




I am planning on entering a few competitions next year ;))
Just one more show to go this Summer in a couple of weeks time which I'll report back on another day. Now I'm off to another special annual Summer Event - Lytham's 1940s weekend.  I'll share that with you in my next post. What are you up to this weekend? Have you been to any Summer events lately? xx

Saturday 9 August 2014

I love Saturdays


Saturdays are wonderful. I love waking up knowing I can do anything I would like to and that there are no specific demands on my time. Today is one of those days. I woke up quite early and decided to get up rather than stay in bed and read which I normally do. The weather was stormy and I felt like bread making so I made up a batch of dough and put it on to rise.



Then I picked tomatoes and fed the plants.I checked on the peppers and chillis which are doing well now.



Next  I put Minnie out into her run - Minnie is my very well loved bunny!


 I weighed my courgettes to see if I had enough to make chutney tomorrow and then the dough was ready to be 'knocked back'.

Whilst waiting for the dough to rise a second time I enjoyed browsing a few blogs and making a list of other things I want to try. On the list are soap making and knitting a cable cushion cover amongst many other things. The bread went in the oven and we had some potato salad and tomatoes for lunch. The maincrop potatoes were ok in the end and make lovely roast potatoes so I will be having some for Sunday lunch tomorrow. They aren't the best for salads though and needed plenty of seasoning.


With the bread baked, I went off to the lotty for a couple of hours. The girls had a little free range and I caught them rummaging around in the parsnips!!


Whilst they made mischief around the plot, I painted a small area of the inside of my shed to see if emulsion would be ok to use. (The man at B and Q thought it would!) but it's going to need a few coats I think.


I harvested the last broad beans, some more sugar snaps,some lettuce leaves, some raspberries, a few carrots that looked reasonably big and collected the eggs. Only two today - Ruby didn't lay one today. 





My allotment neighbors grow artichokes and I had no idea how beautiful they look when they flower. Aren't they gorgeous vegetables? I've never tasted one so I don't know if they're are as nice to eat as they are to look at.  I took the photo (at the top of this post) then it was back home for tea. I had planned to have an omelet but didn't fancy it and plumped for a slice of bread and homemade raspberry jam instead! Yummy .....


The evening was spent knitting, relaxing and watching the proper Star Wars! (ep 4)  What a lovely Saturday. Hope you had a good day too. What have you been up to?? x





Wednesday 6 August 2014

Just an ordinary day


Today was a busy day at work so I was glad when I finally got to the lotty at 5pm and three little faces were there to greet me. There was lots of enthusiastic clucking and curiosity regarding my camera. Sadly my camera doesn't cope very well with close ups especially when the subject is trying to peck the lens!!


I did my usual chores which are - sorting the girls out with food and water, collecting the eggs, watering any plants in pots, picking some bits and pieces for tea and checking on the crops. The sweetcorn seem to be coming on well now.

Then I decided to see how my main-crop potatoes were. A couple of weeks ago the plants succumbed to blight (quite common in main-crops but I was disappointed as I specifically chose a resistant variety) Anyway, I took the advice given frequently, to cut all the foliage down to the ground but leave the potatoes in for a couple more weeks. Today I dug some up to see whether they would be of any usable size or not. Fortunately they are :) They aren't the prettiest potatoes and their skins aren't brilliant but there are plenty of them and they are a reasonable size. I don't think they would be the best for storing so I intend to make lots of potato based food and freeze them. That is, the ones we don't eat this week!


 The allotment is a really friendly place and I have met some lovely people. One of the loveliest and kindest people is B who gave me this wonderful bunch of sweet peas. I wish I could have a 'smellyblog' right now so you could have a sniff - their fragrance totally fills the room.


Tea tonight was a ham and veggie omelet courtesy of the girls. It is so satisfying to eat my (and their!) own produce and it's starting to reduce our food bill considerably now. After tea there was time to watch 'Love your Garden'. For anyone who doesn't know - Alan Titchmarsh and his team, makeover the garden of a family who have had a very hard time and who are incredibly deserving. It is often very moving and is guaranteed to make my mum cry! Whilst I watched I enjoyed one of my favorite pursuits. Since the weather changed I felt the urge to get back to knitting and am enjoying trying out some new stitches. I will probably end up making a throw. I love doing squares as I can watch TV, not get too lost on my pattern and they give quick results. If you don't knit I really recommend you find someone to teach you. It is relatively cheap and once you can do the basics becomes very relaxing. I love it although I still struggle to knit socks. (Its on my list of things to accomplish this year)


I hope you're having a good week and that you are taking some time out to do what you enjoy too.




Sunday 27 July 2014

Everyday is a mini Harvest Festival


Hello again. I hardly know where to start today. SO much has grown, been harvested and been eaten since I last wrote.We have had to buy a chest freezer to keep up with everything. Also the girls are now laying an egg a day each.

Here are a few highlights.....

Firstly the early and second early potatoes were delicious - they have been divided up between friends and family. They have been eaten and enjoyed and also some have been mashed and frozen to enjoy later.They were different colour and taste and the Charlottes were yummily yellow and creamy.



The broad beans just keep on coming and the radishes were also very tasty but I wish I'd grown more.



The strawberries, tayberries, raspberries and blackberries have been eaten, juiced, frozen etc.

I also made some lovely raspberry jam which had to have a cake to go with it!!;)





The courgettes are going strong and I have already made savoury muffins for the girls at work and the courgette loaf below. Especially tasty with some soft cheese. I stuffed a large courgette with mince, homegrown onions and garlic and topped with cheese and herby breadcrumbs and it made a scrumptious Sunday lunch!



The onions were amazing - huge and really tasty. Cooked, froze, gave some away and dried some for storing. The shallots were also successful and I've found a recipe for courgette and shallot chutney which I'll be trying out.


The Autumn planted garlic was great but the spring planted weren't very big (will stick to Autumn planting in future) We've had some fresh and strung lots up to dry out for later use.


The spring onions are lovely - really strong tasting.



The sweetcorn is now growing well, the carrots appear to be doing what they should be and the leeks, swedes, Kale and squash are all looking healthy. Not so sure about the parsnips yet. This was one I accidentally uncovered !! I dread to think what shape they'll be by November :)



The beetroot were tiny but have been boiled and pickled. The little gem lettuces were good and crunchy and I'm going to plant some more. The tomatoes are turning red and taste very sweet. The sugar snap peas are delicious and keep on coming.

There's quite alot of space on the plot now ready for winter veg. Just need the time to sow more in between all the picking, cooking, pickling, freezing, baking etc.

I feel so pleased with my first yrs produce - I honestly didn't think it would go so well or be so much fun.

Hope you're enjoying the Summer where you are xxx





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