Food for the soul

Yesterday afternoon I popped over to Nicky's for a CCG meeting, which was extremely pleasant and productive. Our Go-Slow philosophy is taking shape as we are both trying to take on the world at an altogether slower, more contemplative pace, but it's changing the habit of a lifetime and I feel much better at tackling such an unknown but necessary objective with a friend. Knitting, of course, is the perfect accompaniment to this desire to shake off the relentlessness of life and I managed to finish the bauble:

It's a bit lumpy but I am very pleased. It's so great having Nicky to aspire to with my knitting projects as there is no way I'd tackle anything as complicated of my own accord, but seeing her breezily taking on these things with aplomb and a reassuring "Yes - course you can do it" from her and before you know I've knitted a spherical thing.

The children returned without incident last night but they are always very unsettled when they come back from their dad's, so Mondays are a bit of a write-off. However, I did do some maths with the girls:

And then they decided to build a marble run while I got on with some KS3 maths with T. Poor Tris, he is feeling rather unmotivated and lacking in direction so we went and sat outside for a bit of mother-and-son bonding. I think it is hard enough for us adults to find motivation for doing the things that have to be done, let alone those which we ought to do, and at 14 with no particular ambition to be an 'x', launching forth with vigour into something - anything - is quite tricky. I don't have a problem with the children being bored actually as I think it's better that they learn that life in fact is pretty ordinary a lot of the time but that doesn't mean it's pointless doing things. He said he wanted to cook something, so given that he only really likes bread and sausages, I suggested he tried making brioche as it's a bit more of a challenge than a regular stuff. He got stuck into it, and the dough got stuck to everything too. The quantity said it made one large loaf: well, he divided it in two but they were still whoppers:

[Hand over face due to embarrassment, not disaster]

[Head missing due to embarrassment not disaster]

I went outside for a while as Amber was driving me crackers with a circuitous discussion which, had I been remotely inclined to write it down, would have had a general direction similar to that of 'there's a hole in my bucket, dear Liza' and as a result, I had to unpick all the stitches I had done on the slouchy beanie, as anger does not make for very regular decreasing.

The garden, as always, calmed and quietened even though it was rather grey:

Llywelyn finds a worm

One of my gals

Sweet peas

Maud, Mary and maggots

Today the girls went off for the rest of the weekend having tidied up the lounge for me before they went, bless them. It wasn't an entirely spontaneous gesture of altruism on their part but hey, I'm all for a little prompting.

So, some free time. I have this dilemma of wanting to get lots of things done while I don't have the interruptions and demands of the children but also wanting to simply sit and enjoy the peace and quiet. 27 hours isn't really that long to cram a fortnight's worth of time to myself so usually it ends up being a sort of melange of underachievement and vague pottering. I must find time to do some studying as advanced under-grad stuff is rather tricky to simply fit in around everything else as my other courses have done, and it needs to be prioritised. Ho hum.

Anyway I've done some knitting; I'm about halfway through the bauble:

which I am really enjoying and I am about two-thirds of the way through this hat although I can't show a pic as it's a present, plus I have cast on some alpaca silk aran to make some mitts to match my hat with the leftover yarn. I have a bit of a needle jam at the moment as about 4 things need 5mm needles.

Time has also been spent in the garden potting on sweet peas, and Charles kindly tidied up all the pots and junk off the grass. It's incredibly mild (why am I knitting all these hats, scarves and gloves??) and everything in the garden is still pushing on and flowering. It's heartening to think that in 4 months time all the plants will be popping up again, and I have planted lots of crocuses and bulbs so I am looking forward to my borders in spring.

Maud seems to be ok; I read that feeding maggots to a bunged up chicken worked wonders so yesterday I braved the fishing tackle shop and bought half a pint of white wrigglers. The gentleman in there was very helpful as I explained that I was a first-time maggot buyer to which his response was a wry smile and "I'd never have guessed..." and asked if I had a receptacle to put them in as they weren't allowed to be sold in bags. I looked rather apprehensively at the main pocket of my purse which seemed to be the only thing that might fit the bill, but he then said they sold little pots for the purpose. So, with relief, I passed over another 80 pence and removed the mental image of me driving home, trying to change gear with them in my cupped hand. I have fed a few to Maud, and she seems a bit perkier today.

Mary is getting very keen to go back in with the big hens, and is madly in love with Henry - she goes all coquettish when he does his wing down, hopping round her routine and if he finds a small morsel and bok-boks, she gallops over fluttering her eyelids. All the older hens ignore him as they know he rarely finds anything of interest and it's all a show, but Mary falls for it every time and Henry takes full advantage of her admiration in the way a cockerel knows best :-/ but it hasn't put her off him.

Yet...

Needles

I have been attempting to knit a Christmas bauble from this book which is my first go at using 4 dpns. It looks quite innocuous when sitting there on the side:

But when I am actually knitting, I see this before me:

I should probably wear safety goggles as they are a bit long for the task but I keep smiling at myself as it is the most un-dextrous thing I have ever done and frankly, every stitch is a small victory. I have a nasty feeling they are going to look a lot simpler than they actually are, unlike the Nordic hats which look terribly complicated but are ok as long as one can count:

Maud isn't very well; she has an impacted crop and I have tried a few home remedies but we'll see how she goes. Amber fed her some softened mash this morning but I hope she'll perk up over the next few days. I let the duckles out for their regulation lawn-destruction exercise:

And walked the dog up through the field which is all a bit squidgy after the drizzly weather but it looks beautifully verdant which is welcome in the gloom:

Mary has been keeping a close eye on the broad beans and generally treats the chicken wire around the vegetable beds as a sort of refuge from the chicks:

The big hens went out today too as their enclosure is revoltingly muddy and they need to graze. Note they are in the field but only the headland; they aren't scrabbling at the crop...honest...

It's Autumnwatch and Gardeners' World this evening which hopefully I'll be able to watch without too many interruptions. I'm really starting to notice that I'm not getting my usual Friday evening off since the girls started Stagecoach, and it's been half term so there is no contrast with the holidays with home-ed as the whole staying-in-pyjamas-all-day thing is a pretty frequent occurence! I was rather distracted before the week off anyway as I had my exams so they have not had to be terribly focussed. However, I was listening to Farming Today and there is a big drive to get children into the countryside and understanding where our food comes from and what is involved with agricultural practices. Apparently an astonishing number of children (and some student teachers) thought that bull calves went into the milking herd with the cows! Presumably they also thought that cockerels laid eggs...

So in fact, if one takes all the activities my children are involved with on a day to day basis, we would beat the National Curriculum by a country mile :-)

Stashes

Well, once again I had to relinquish my laptop to my son, but that problem's been solved as he's gone to his best friend's house for the forseeable so la la la I can use it, until the girls want it anyway.

Yesterday, my new yarn arrived :-)

It's for various projects and Christmas presents and I'm really pleased with all of it. After a major battle with Amber before lunch, she decided that in fact she would attend the sewing workshop that I had organised for her to go to at the Owl and Sewing Cat (probably because I hit upon the correct level and combination of threats/disownership) and of course she had a whale of a time. It's a lovely little shop and now sells yarn so that's a bonus.

I stocked up on double-pointed needles and sat and knitted a hat while Amber sewed away happily and Rosie morphed into a toddler before my eyes and pestered me relentlessly as we were in a shop full of 'things'. Ams made a lovely bag which she is thrilled to bits with:

and is now full of ideas for other things that she'd like to make. As this was the whole idea of her going along, I'm really pleased it's given her some confidence with a sewing machine.

We came back and realised there had been a colossal hail storm in our absence. Colossal as in the size of the hailstones:

They were the size of peas!

Today my parents called in as I was back to the doctor for another blood test about my anaemia as I've not been feeling well again recently, probably because my iron-tablet taking is, well, to say it's been sporadic would be generous. Mum brought her needle box for me to rootle through so I now have a needle stash too:

Fantastic, though I still need some more tiny dpns for knitting Christmas baubles! So, in conclusion, my current projects are as follows:

1 hat on circular needles, 1 sock on dpns, 1 hat on straights, 1 scarf on circulars.

I must try and take it easy for the sake of my poor depleted system so hopefully having lots of projects will ensure I do so. I am getting into a bit of a pickle with my sock but I need to practise and it's my first time on these needles so hmm, we'll see. It's just the girls and me this evening and I've been asked to join them for a dvd tonight :-/ their choice is not normally that compatible with mine but they have said I can knit at the same time!

It's turned quite breezy now but it is still so mild - the dahlias are still flowering and the wheat in the field is about 2" tall. The bees are still bringing in pollen from ivy (I presume) and Red Admiral butterflies still cruise around the garden when the sun peeps out. The clock change at the weekend will be quite welcome as it's so dark in the mornings now and it takes me by surprise to see that it's gloomy and the hens are still in bed yet it's getting on for 8 o'clock. Only 2 months until the solstice and then the evenings start getting lighter again! Hooray.

Enough of my musings, the girls want to go charity shopping and I must put down my needles and brave the High Street...

Morning off

The children are with their dad for a day so I decided to walk the dog at my favourite spot on the South Downs, near Firle, as I also needed some new Garvo chicken food from Middle Farm as I got some for my big hens the other day and they now don't like the boring old pellets. I thought it was only cats that used that ploy?? I remember with our cat that we started off with bog-standard Whiskas and 3 months later, with some well-executed refusals and lofty sneering at his bowl, he had worked his way round to eating Finest Salmon Steaks in a Halibut Jus (on Wednesdays; obviously he couldn't eat the same thing two days running) which cost a fortune. Well, at least the hens lay eggs.

Anyway I first walked Scruff, who was in nth heaven as it was a pheasant bonanza. I say I walked him - I actually walk along the path and occasionally the dog transects my route as he makes his way from one end of the county to another. It was mild but breezy and the skylarks were in good voice.

There was a lot of gorse in flower so the bees of Firle must be doing well:

Having exchanged pleasantries with the owner of the feed shop I tossed up whether to have a cup of tea or was that a bit extravagant. Tea was £1.35 and I had £1.36: decision made. I seem to have hit the tea shop before the half-term hordes:

And I then treated myself to a few foodie bits in the shop (including a beef bone for stock) and also a quince to perfume the house:

It smells divine. I made some chutney yesterday out of a squash, a few courgettes, some onions, and I threw in some dates and ginger too. The apple wine needed bottling as the demi-john was taking up room that I don't have so I have been quite productive:

The ducks are out and I will plant some seeds in the hens' enclosure this afternoon so they have some greenery to peck at. I also need to look at my Dynamic Planet map which is about the size of a double bed for one of the activities for my geology course, so I will ensure the dog's paws are dry and put it out on the lounge floor. I adore my children but it's lovely to have some space and time to move and think, even though my boot room is looking a bit cramped:

There's duck food, chick food, chicken food, chicken corn, dog food, bird seed and peanuts...

Old pictures...

Quick post as I'm on the pc not the laptop and I didn't take any pictures today. I have been busy though - we popped over to my parents this morning and this afternoon I've ordered some yarn and dealt with the poultry. I've also started my course texts all about plate tectonics which is actually really interesting. No, really...

Anyway whilst looking at pics on this computer I found this one from about 4 or 5 years ago:

Rosie's comment was, "Wow! We used to love each other!"

Yes! I thought, indeed you did!!

Warm October Day

We have had the most spectacular autumn, it seems to have been warm, dry and sunny for ages, and I'm not complaining. I struggle with winter at the best of times, as does my house who scores embarrassingly low on the alphabet of energy efficiency ratings. My garden is not suffering too much from the lack of rain, as I empty the duck's water on to my vegetable plots and containers, and in fact the wheat in the field behind me has germinated well:

I love the orderly lines of identical tiny plants stretching off into the distance.

I let all the poultry out at some point today so firstly the lawn had a puddling by the grey calls, then the same by the whites who also paid a visit to the hens:

Ida has learnt how to fly over the fence - she needs a leg-up from the coop but with a huge squawk and mad flapping she does clear it. Usually anyway. Mary has been very keen to talk to Henry through the fence and there is lots of pacing up and down and bok-bokking sweet nothings to each other. I'd like Mary to go back in with the big hens at some point, mainly as I feel rather sorry for her still feeling obliged to brood her chicks in the nextbox during the night as they are about half her size and there's 3 of them (I do sympathise). Anyway, she seems very keen on Henry so I let them all out together in the evenings and he seems more than happy to resume his er, relationship...honestly, he's incorrigible.

Anyway, Mary was happy to dust bath amongst my broad beans:

Maud took a turn in there too once she'd got over the fence:

Then after lunch Charles and I went to the garden centre but he hadn't warned me about the tubtrugs full of 'Seeds for 50p' so we both sat down on the plinth and got rummaging. It was great! Shame there wasn't a cup of tea on hand but anyway, we came back with £55.20 of seeds which had only cost £12!

Very exciting.

My bees discovered an old frame that I'd taken out of the hive and left out for them to clean up. I thought it was empty but seemingly not:

The frame is revolting as I trod on it in my wellies but as with all the other animals they are determined to find the disgusting horrible stuff so as to shatter any illusion of pleasant pastoral living.

I did finally get to prick out my hollyhock seedlings which were getting rather large in their seed tray. These seeds are from my magnificent hollyhocks which I took from my friend Kate's garden as they were a gorgeous deep red, though of course cross-pollination meant they were pink in my garden. Just as well I don't have any sort of colour/plan/scheme for my garden! They have come on really well though:

That was meant to be an arty shot but I seem to have missed out the cup of tea in Emma Bridgewater mug and included the Playmobil man minus his plastic hair. C'est la vie...

Quick ta-dah

Just a quick post to show Tristan's completed slouchy beanie:

I'm really pleased and I'm absolutely sure he'll be thrilled to bits. What 14 year old boy wouldn't be??

Nicky come round for a CCG evening of gentle crafting and discussing of new things to put on our needles and hooks and in our freezers and store cupboards. I finished another hat during Strictly which required 15mm needles so was like knitting with fenceposts which was not very sociable. Nicky has made some socks (I'm so pleased to have such a mentor! - I mean they are proper socks!) and I am wanting to have a go at some of those so Scruff has some expensive hand-knitted ones to take and hide in one of his many doggy nests rather than his usual motley collection of hole-ridden remnants that the children call socks.

I have also done the first 2 chain stitches in some creamy white wool on my 3.5mm hook...

Late post

I was going to write this yesterday but Tristan's pc has gone to the menders, hence we are one computer facility short...so of course my laptop becomes the Family laptop, grrr. Anyway, I spent yesterday morning in bed as I'd had a bad migraine the previous evening which had knocked me for six, so Laura kindly took the children to Home Ed group for me and I did a few more rounds of Tristan't hat. I should hopefully have a ta-dah moment for that later although I must admit it's not as impressive as my hat, which I love. I hadn't realised the joy in making something purely for myself; it's rare as a mother to not have everything one owns appropriated by needy children (see above reference to laptop) so I am loving my soft, warm and very necessary headgear.

I did potter around the garden taking some seedheads and bring in the tender plants:

And move the wormery to the porch to give it some protection from the elements:

I cleaned out the hens and as I once again have an abundance of mint which is looking a bit manky, I chopped it up and mixed it in with the shavings for their bedding:

The rest of the garden is quietening down now for the winter, although my lupins are still pushing up flower spikes - they have been amazing: 6 whole months of flowering. The winter veg have been enjoying the warm autumn and are quite ahead of themselves: