Updates- Vegetables

Excursions into growing vegetables have been less successful than I'd hoped.

I've been growing 3 tomato plants indoors, each a different variety. Top picture shows Gardeners delight which are cherry tomatoes. They are the most successful in that they have the most trusses of tomatoes on. They are the only ones so far to ripen, but the taste is disappointing.

The tomatoes above are the variety Moneymaker and my dad used to grow these very successfully on the smallholding. And although the ones in the picture are beginning to ripen now since I took the picture a few days ago, there aren't many of them.

There is a third plant, but it wasn't even worth taking a photo of it.

This plant however has been very prolific. Unfortunately I bought it thinking it was Bell Peppers and instead it is a chillie plant, and we don't eat many chillies. And yes they are quite hot!

The allotment hasn't fared much better. After getting the allotment we decided that we wouldn't be staying in the UK so my ideas to grow fruit didn't materialise as I didn't think I would be here to eat it. So anything I did grow was to be harvested by September. In the end I kept it simple. I just put more onions and potatoes in and they are currently being harvested and eaten, and very nice they are too.

I've also grown some strawberries in the allotment. I was given some plants by a woman who has a plot across from me. She's been doing it for years and is very good at it. Unfortunately we were away in Sweden when the strawberries had their main crop. Surprisingly though I did get some fruit from them and they were lovely.

Other plants I've grown (or planted) are:-

dahlias- the snails got them! Yes I know these aren't vegetables, but I like them

carrots-haven't grown any bigger than my little toe, and a lot thinner!

salad leaves- growing okay

sweetcorn- grown at my son's request and seem to be doing okay...I think



Well perhaps not the most successful of vegetable growers, but I can only get better. As I intend growing more vegetables next year in Sweden I think this years growing will have proved very useful as a learning experience, if nothing else!

A Long Two Weeks

Did I say two weeks?

Well yes we were away two weeks, and we had a lovely time. But I was wrong when I thought I would have lots of lovely photos to show, particularly of Norway.



We had delibrately decided to travel on 2 bikes and take our time to enjoy Norway. We have travelled through Norway before on bikes and in a car with a caravan, but each time it had a purpose to get us to the ferry. This time we wanted to linger. And enjoy.



The pictures above and below are taken from the ferry. The weather doesn't look too bad does it? But by the time we got off the ferry in Bergen, it was dark grey nearly black (first thing in the morning) and pouring with rain. The policeman who checked my passport said,

"Welcome to our rainy country," as he looked up at the sky.

And so it continued. I am quite used to riding my motor bike in the rain having toured parts of Europe by motor bike on several occasions. No matter how lovely the weather or perhaps because of it there will always be one day at least when we have been caught in a torrential downpour. But it has usually happened on part of the journey or has been on a day out from where we have been staying. But this was different. It rained from before getting off the ferry until we finally made it into Sweden where the sun was shining. Boy did we get wet. Despite wearing the correct gear for the conditions, it cannot prevent the rain dripping down your clothes to form a constant puddle in which you are sitting and in your boots. And did I mention my gloves. My hands were wet and cold, not good when you are riding a bike.
These are the bikes we were riding, laden up with tent and sleeping bags, but it was so wet we didn't camp we stayed in the stuga for one night before crossing over into Sweden for midsommer.

No sooner were we home (in Sweden) than we were off to friends to help them celebrate. We had two parties to go to and very good they were to. It was great to see our friends again.

It was lovely to be back in our Swedish home which we had missed. Everything was looking so lush. And I loved being back in the garden. I even did a bit of gardening.

I had plenty of time to do some sewing. So I:-

• started a dinosaur cushion for my grandson to match his quilt
• completed the stitching on some foundation piecing ready to become a small cushion
• finished the binding on a potholder that I was trying out a quilting design
• and did a bit more to my hexagon quilt that I started years ago. It's travelled with me on various holidays

We travelled back a different route, and this little fella was hitching a ride on the ferry.

Mike relaxing in the cabin...

Mike back home with his pals.

Holiday

Off on holiday, can't stop, be back in 2 weeks..... with some photos from Norway and Sweden.
Ciao.

Too Tall

This is a tomato plant that has grown too big for the windowsill. It is now on the floor in the sitting room. I have 3 altogether, different varieties. I'm hoping to get lots of lovely tomatoes from them.

These are the courgette plants outgrowing the kitchen windowsill. They are destined for the allotment which I need to visit. I'm sure that there will be plenty of weeds. Sunshine and showers are a great combination for growing.

Ghosts and Happy Hippos

My daughter asked me to make her a dress. This is the result. The choice of fabric was a little unusual for the time of year, but then again my daughter is one of a kind. She wore it to a party where she got lots of positive comments including an enquiry as to where she got it from.


This is the fabric she bought yesterday with a request to make another dress, for her birthday next month. Fortunately it's a nice easy to work with cotton, unlike the ghost fabric which was slippery and liable to fast fraying.
It's years since I did any dressmaking and I'm pleased that it turned out so well. Just need to get cracking with the next one now.

Springwatch Part 2

Following on from yesterday's post, here are photos taken of some of the birds that we see along our well travelled routes.

Springwatch Part 1

Here in the UK, Springwatch is a popular TV programme chronicling the changes happening in nature at this busy time of year. As we are now in June I thought I would look through the photos that I have taken during spring, starting with the flowers.

If you click on a photo you will be able to see if I have identified it, or not.

The photos have been taken at different times over spring 2008 whilst out walking with Paddy and Jewel, and Mike of course.

Lemon Cake for the Walkers

Nearly forgot to take a photo of the lemon cake I made this morning. Nigella Lawson's Lemon Syrup Loaf Cake. The cake is a favourite, light but tangy.

After an unsure start, it has turned into a lovely sunny warm day. My friend came over to join me taking the dogs for a walk. It was too hot to do the longer walk we did last Saturday. We did not want to try the steppy stones across the river that we did last week, with 3 dogs. It was just asking for trouble. So we kept it simple; down to the river, across the fields and over the stile, a lie down in the grass, (Paddy was the first to lie down), and a slow walk back. Very enjoyable. It would have been nice to take the camera but it also would have been too much to manage with 3 dogs.

Back home my friend and I had tea and lemon cake, mmmm yum. The dogs had a lie down before having their dinner, a bit later than usual. I think Rufus was a bit concerned as he is used to eating at the same time every day so this was out of the ordinary for him. But I think he made up for it, as when I came back in from saying goodbye to my friend, Jewel's dish was empty (she usually doesn't eat it all at once prefering to finish it later, and Paddy never goes into her dish).

They are still fast asleep and content. Rufus is even making funny little snoring sounds. I expect they will be up to give Mike a big noisy welcome when he gets home in another hour.

But will there be any lemon cake left I wonder?

New Kid on the Block

This is Rufus the new addition to our family.

Do you think he looks as though he's settled in?

He's joined Paddy and Jewel who have been with us since December. Of course there had to be a reshuffling of beds, but they all look quite content.

They have all come from the same rehoming centre in Northumberland where we go and walk the retired greyhounds waiting for their forever home, all 30 of them. Rufus was always a favourite of Mikes as he reminded him of our first greyhound that died in November 2006, Clive. However we didn't take Rufus, choosing instead Paddy. Paddy had been at the centre for a while and seemed to be being overlooked when people came to choose a greyhound to take as their own. Paddy had lost the hair on his back legs which can be a sign that they are anxious and he wasn't putting on any weight, while Rufus seemed a happy robust dog.

However, Rufus did get a home, but it didn't work out so he was returned to the kennels where he became depressed and didn't eat. We think he enjoyed life outside the kennels and realised how nice it can be. So we couldn't leave him there and so we brought him home hoping that the two dogs would get on okay together, and so far they have.

We live in a flat at the moment and it can be a bit of a squash when it comes to taking 3 eager greyhounds for a walk.

Ready for the off.

My husband is away for two days so I have the 3 dogs to look after on my own for the first time. So far it has gone okay. Just hope that the rain keeps off today so we don't all get a soaking when we go for our walks. Nothing worse than wet dog!

More about each of the dogs and their personalities another time.

Beach Daze

Took the title from my daughters Facebook page after spending a beautiful afternoon at the beach with my daughter, grandson and son.

The beach was quite busy, mainly with young people having fun, playing ball, swimming, surfing, throwing each other into the sea. We were a bit more sedate. My son was tempted to have a swim but didn't. My grandson was intent on digging holes. He's keen to give orders to others, giving out tools and telling us to dig. We dug.

He then collected water to fill the hole. Which of course was a never ending task as the water seeped away. But as the tide was coming in, the sea eventually did its duty and filled the hole with water and sand. A good learning exercise for my grandson.

My daughter took photos and between us we took 193! Digital photography is one of the great things of the modern age as I love taking photos.

So does my daughter.

Grandmother and Grandson taking a look at the sea.

My son has fond memories of days out on this beach when he was little.

I'm sure my grandson will too.