yum...

At the weekend we managed to harvest a whole box full of veg from the allotment, we were very excited. An enormous courgette, potatoes, hilarious shaped carrots, some chard, a few runner beans and some lettuce from a neighbour. The carrots were the clear winners, not like any I've ever seen in the shops but boy they are tasty, and crunchy - utterly delicious.

Last year we bought 2 plum trees for the garden, this year one of them gave us 9 plums, 3 fell off and the bugs got them but we ate the others today, tasty, juicy - prefect.

Having tasted these delicious home grown foods it makes me wonder what on earth do the supermarkets do to fruit and veg to make it taste of nothing? and why are we settling for such junk? 


happy tasting x

real tears

It's been a very busy couple of weeks, and very emotional. Our eldest girl turned 5 this week and I don't know why but it has made me cry.

 
She finishes school today for the 6 week holidays and I can't wait to have her back. As I looked at her baby pictures yesterday I wondered where the time has gone, and I've thought about all the things she has done, achieved and learned. I'm so incredibly proud of her. She has brought me tears of joy and sometimes despair, she makes me laugh, she's warm and caring, she's curious, she's bright, she's inventive, she's creative....  she's amazing.


And now I've mopped the tears up again I'll tell you she had a great party - the theme was Butterflies and Pirates and it was a very homemade affair. 

We made little chairs and tables, and a good friend helped me paint them.  

 
Everyone made a huge effort dressing up and the garden was filled with pirates and butterflies (some a combination of both) playing games and hunting for treasure, they had to find the goody bags containing gold (chocolate) coins that the the pirates had stolen and hidden in the garden. As they went home they took a lucky dip in the treasure chest to find their prizes.

I have to say I had great fun preparing it all, even though I was thoroughly exhausted at the end - who knew children's parties were such hard work?!

I just about managed to squeeze in a dress for Missy Big, a very simple pillowcase style dress (thanks to Google) which she loved, can't go wrong with pink and butterflies in her eyes!

Happy Birthday Missy Big, I love you x




I'm about to pick her up from school for the last time this school year, this is also making me cry. She's had a wonderful year in reception and has learned so much, made good friends and is becoming a confident little girl. Her teachers and the teaching assistants have been wonderful - fun, encouraging, caring and genuine, we've been very lucky to have them. 
I'm now going to enjoy every minute of having her all day every day for the next six weeks, so if it's a bit quiet over here - I'll be in the garden in a house made from blankets eating grass and daisy cakes and drinking muddy water tea...


enjoy the holiday! x

getting there ...

I feel like we're getting somewhere on the allotment now. The last week or so has been too hot to go there most days, except for watering in the evenings, but we spent a few hours picking fruits and weeding at the weekend.

We've had blackcurrents, gooseberries, rhubarb, more peas and a couple of redcurrents that the birds had missed.

I also managed to get some chard and kale in that a friend gave me this week. It's looking good, everything seems to have had a growth spurt and I'm thrilled that it's all still alive!

The friend that gave us the plants has an allotment, though on a different site and this week we got to go and have a nose around, they've had it for a couple of years and it was very inspiring and I picked up plenty of tips. 
I love the community spirit that comes with an allotment, everyone is so generous with their plants, advise, crops and encouragement - it's great to get to know a different group of people.

I'm pleased to say that mission 'tax returns' is complete, phew. But this next week is going to be busy, Missy Big is going to be 5 very soon and I have a butterflies and pirates party to launch. She has been planning this since last August, so I mustn't disappoint.

Hello and welcome to my new followers and thank you all for the lovely comments, I do love it when you leave me a message!

Well I'm off to plan a treasure hunt, make a treasure chest, make bunting, sew a party dress, wrap the pass the parcel etc. etc. have a good week x