Where growing, making & good living come together

Things from yesterday and today

Posted by on Tuesday 8 February 2011 in growing, meta | 3 comments

I started my potatoes chitting yesterday. Well, they’d already started chitting all by themselves but I took them out of their nets and put them in egg boxes. Now to remember which is which…

Today is the first time in about a week when it’s not been blowing a gale so I’m tempted to spend the afternoon away from my computer and sow some seeds. Weee!

I collected six eggs this morning – we usually get five max. Being realistic, I think it was probably just a late one from yesterday and today’s five – but one was a little small, so maybe Lime’s coming out of moult.

(Buff has yet to provide us with a single egg (she’ll lay white ones, the rest lay light to mid brown ones so it’ll be clear when she does get around to it) and is getting noisier. From what I’ve read, it’s not uncommon for Leghorns to be late starters, and I guess winter will exacerbate that, but I’m worried she thinks she is a boy – or actually is a boy. Nothing obvious yet but *paranoia*.)

Our meal planning made it to Day Two before failing completely. Yay us. There is a reason though – we had both completely forgotten that John’s attending a talk in Manchester tonight so not only will be out for dinner but will need more substance at lunchtime than soup will provide (he’s unlikely to be eating dinner until after 9pm). And also half his company came for lunch today either en route to the talk or just because there was mention of fish and chips and everyone loves fish and chips. I will probably still end up making the sausage & lentil casserole because the sausages will go off otherwise, but I’ll freeze tonight’s portion instead.

I made the spicy butternut squash soup before we realised the change of plans so I’ll have that for dinner tonight. I made approximately 3litres of it. I might freeze some of that too ;)

A book on vegetable-oil soap making that I’d been umming and aahing about buying for ages arrived this morning – can’t wait to give that a go.

Some embroidery fabric (bought on eBay) also arrived so I can start on my next big stitchery project. Going to wait until I’ve finished the blanket (which is now wide enough to keep me warm while I’m crocheting it :) ) rather than get distracted but I’m working on my pattern. It’s going to be an evolving piece actually – it’ll never be finished-finished – which makes planning interesting!

We shaved & bathed the dog last night. (Not a euphemism.) She feels like silky velvet at the moment and while it’s not a perfect job, it’s certainly passable. It would have cost us at least £45 if we’d paid someone else to do it. She slept through all the clipping and got an egg afterwards for being a good girl.

There has been a few clumps of small brown mushrooms growing on the garden steps (covered with wood chippings) recently and I picked one to identify yesterday. It looks very much like a Deceiver (Laccaria Laccata) but it seems far too late in the year/early in the next one to be those. I will keep looking through my books to see what else it might be but any other suggestions would be gratefully received :)

What have you guys been up to?

3 Comments

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  1. Hazel

    I bought a couple of potatoes from the Potato day at Ryton, which are now chitting in an eggbox, but still waiting for the rest to arrive by post. It’s quite sad how excited I can get about seed potatoes…(but it’s keeping DH amused!)

    I’m no good at mushroom ID, I’m afraid. I wasn’t even brave enough to eat the Shaggy Inkcaps in the garden, and they appear in all the idiots guides to edible mushrooms!

    I’d be interested in what you think of the soap making book you’ve bought. Will you do a review? Soap making is on my ‘skills to accquire list this year (along with several hundred other things, but hey!)

  2. Su

    Learning that I do NOT enjoy dressmaking! Actually making a bag, but the principle remains. I can’t be doing with all that marking out and tacking and ironing and getting up and down, give me knitting or embroidery where you can sit down and get on with it!

  3. louisa

    Hazel: I’m gutted that I’m missing out on our local potato day – it’s been in my diary for two months but a work thing is trumping it, boo.

    Re: the soap book – not really had a chance to read it yet, let alone making anything – but I will review it when I do, since you’ve asked :)

    Su: I have no patience for prep either – or conversely, if I’m feeling I should “do it right”, I spend so much time doing the prep that I run out of time to do the actual sewing and have to leave it for another day. All hail knitting/crochet – jump right in without having to leave the sofa, hurrah!

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