Magazine style - all inclusive

[alp]

Ah! It's not a magnifier, it's a filter. Amazing how you can fiddle with your photos. There is the sepia to take nostalgic pics. Yes, you must try it before wrapping it up. Great photo. All the doors are double! US is just so big!

My youngest brother said our cars were like toys and houses expensive when he came here for my wedding from South Carolina.

It was a most wonderful day yesterday - bright, dry and cheerfully warm! Went to freegle a wood dining table. not the best form, but do the work perfectly. We had our dinner on it. Aromatic duck! Such a mess and oily fingers. I'm sort of sick of it. But son wants it for Christmas dinner!

Judging from the temperatures, please wrap you everything WARM, especially your plant before 24th!

Went to Basildon and bought 3cake box cakes. Didn't know that they reduced the price and nearly left, but saw the cashier fiddling with the till and went back 2 steps. She gave me back £2. Normally it was 3 for £10, but now it's reduced to £8. On 2nd thought, I can buy a whole fresh chicken with that money. I never have cakes in restaurants as they are so dear. It's a rare treat.

My GC had dahlias, agapanthus in already and it's strangely quiet, which is unusual. People were probably following T4 rules. It is frightening how businesses have to close during this busy season. A final nail in the coffin.

My most wonderful buy is a Stevia for 50p which looks like dying and in the pile of dying puny shrivelled erythronium bulbs, I miraculously found a decent pack. Not sure if they will flower this year. It was 50p for 3. Normally, they are dead as dodo. All of the other puffy and hopelessly except this one. Very pleased with my find. Also bought some lilies. I hope I have some tall ones next year.

 

[Perki]

Another wet day popped out to the GC this afternoon, picked up a quite large Garrya james roof a plant I've fancied for years only cost £3 but I haven't got a clue where I am going to plant it , I don't normally buy plants on a whim , Got a couple bags of compost and a tray of bellis . I did want some better pansy / viola plants but they seem hard to come by this winter. I planted up all my pots with the pansy / viola I had so hopefully they do ok and I have a good show come spring .

Not good down south with the new covid strain it will not be long before the whole country is in tier 4 .

 

[alp]

Good morning to all:

Perki: If this is the Garrya tassle tree, similar to mine, it should be OK. Don't know about the wet. Shade. Mine is doing very well where it's shade, but dry shade though. Now, it's a bit not so dry there and next to it, I have layered the scented wisteria.

This year, plants are far and few between. No bonanza in the sinbin. You were lucky to have got it for £3! I have my eye on Cornus Controversa Variegata £30 plus potential pension card 10% and also a Cercius Chinensis. I have 3 Siliquestrums, one of which has flowered first time this year. I am not sure if I should pay £50 for a similar plant.

Here in the south, we have been in T4 since Sunday. My escapism plan is now shattered. Little Emperor will be here tormenting me throughout Christmas! He then told me somebody lost their sight because of Covid. Sometimes, I just nodded as I didn't want to be trapped in my own truth. To tell you the truth, I have no idea if this has been the case.

Call me cynical: Any rogue country can come in and drop these viruses to weaken another country. Look at Salisbury. How can you "microwave" another human being? All because of control.The world is a very dangerous place.

At this rate, we will have no businesses, no jobs ... and surprisingly, housing market is ridiculously buoyant!

Stevia - very sweet leaves

These were the hellebores on sale - mostly Dutch grown I think. Big but boring!

Too early for the more interesting ones.

I reckon tons of mine have died due to the incessant walking whilst erecting the greenhouses.

 

[alp]

1500 lorries stuck in Kent and yet this lovely man was dining al fresco WITH A TABLECLOTH in amidst this horrendous chaos.

LOL! Bless him. Hope he has a portable loo as well!

 

[alp]

Merry Christmas to all!​

Going to be a damp squid day!

Well, something did cheer me up yesterday

Daphne Bholua

Neighbour's fat tabby. Looks a bit mean! But a gorgeous cat!

Another red collarette. I'm afraid tomorrow night will see its demise!

This reminds me of Zenj's beautiful double apricot with stripes on the petals.

Helleborus × hybridus Spring Promise Anja Oudolf ! Bought it for £5 from a sinbin and it came with a virus. But hey, it is a very pretty hellebore and I am so pleased that I still have one!

 

[Perki]

damp day here also but tomorrow better but much colder . I've been messing around with my wardrobe most of the day , keep having to tinker with things and buy something else it getting on my wick now but I am almost there with it . I'll have to go out tomorrow and get some Christmas cards and put some money in its so much easier. Said I'd do my mums patio for a Christmas gift , its decking at the moment and its a death trap if you dont slip on it you might go through it anyway so it needs sorting .

 

[alp]

Thank you for saying the weather would be good today. I checked and turned on my washing machine. Hopefully, it doesn't rain.

Cash is a good way of sending a present, but not so interesting for kids.

The squash seeds germinated very well. I just wanted to see if they were viable.

We blocked all the holes near the skirt of the hen coop and hen run and a lot of bricks were needed to finish the job. We found a pair of trainers inside the hen coop and hen run. Very strange! Who would have bought that inside the coop and run?

I had been very disappointed with the egg supply even with the copious amount and varieties of foods I had given them. Two days ago, there were only 2. During the clear out, we found 13 eggs lying around. I used a most scientific test to see if the eggs were still good. i.e. dunk them in water and if they float, chuck, if they sink, keep. They were all good and the last one is a giant one.

All that time, most of these eggs had been inside a box the contents of which I couldn't see

Going out to have a look at the shops. Going to be nightmare!

 

[Perki]

Frozen this morning but the sun was out . Been a busy afternoon popped out to get a few Christmas cards to put money in, more titivating with my wardrobe after. Then while the sun was out to the GH I thought it be warm in there but nope, I sowed my Begonia seeds

. Back to the house to clean my propagators out, and tidy the unused small bedroom ready to for the sowing season .

One of the neighbours had chickens that were always in my back garden , anyway one day he popped round because the chickens weren't laying as many and wanted to see if they been laying in my garden, found a load under a bag.

Hope you have a nice Christmas day alp - Zenji and everyone else who pops in now and again

 

[alp]

It was a brilliant day! There was a bit of a breeze. After reading your post, I quickly started the machine and I saw the breeze swayed my bamboo! Bingo! My clothes were almost dried by the wind, except from some corduroy trousers.

Amazing that I actually found 14 eggs and they were still good. Today, I have only 3. A bit disappointed. I have been cooking them all the 14p vegs from Aldi and the reduced iced root veg from Tesco. Anyway, I gave them a lovely treat of protein - mealworms and they were fighting, as usual. Life is cruel. You have to stand your ground and I am not very good at this. I either go mute and go overboard. Life is an art form.

I wish I hadn't bought the whole Salmon or had Zenj prepared food for me! Now I have to try my gravlax! Won't be good. I can assure you! So many versions on youtube that my head spins. Now, even Morrisons doesn't bother filleting them for us! Thank you, Covid, for nothing!

 

[alp]

Good morning and

Merry Christmas to all!​

Last night's fishy business left me with fish scales all over the kitchen. I will steam clean the kitchen soon.

Also, I used the wrong salt: too coarse and I think I will need to wash the marinade material off this fish.

Now I know why people will pay so much money for smoke salmon or gravlax. A lot of hard work, just picking out the tiny bones took a long time. I joked to my friend that I would buy a box and just bunk the meat inside the oven to avoid such a Messy business!

I think I might as well use my spare small bedroom for germination, a tiny cubicle in which you can't swing a cat.

Hope you all have a glorious Christmas day and keep warm, snug and well-feasted!

True Christmas spirit!

Christmas delivery! Villagers help stranded truck drivers stuck on the M20 in Kent by lowering food parcels containing beans, fruit and sweets from motorway bridge


Ravinder Singh, founder of Khalsa Aid which is based in Maidenhead, said: 'We in Sikhism, we have the concept of langar, which means community kitchen.

'We are British Sikhs and the least we can do is to practise our seasonal goodwill: two days from Christmas we have people on our soil who are homeward bound and do not know what is happening.'

Some heros/heroines here!

 

[Zenj]

A very Merry Christmas to All
very cold here will have to deuce the car to take presents to the grand kids ,,was a bit worried that our Swedish parcel of presents wasn’t going to get there in time but it as...

 

[alp]

Merry Christmas, Zenj!

If by air mail, there is a chance the presents will arrive faster than from NE to SE! Some places enjoy good delivery whilst the others are beyond a joke. I am sure they will understand.

You must show us pics of your handiwork - as you are the deft foodi here!

After the blessed salmon, I have the blessed aromatic duck to deal with. Sorry, next year will be a bit of lamb or chicken. No more fancy foods for me! The only time I wish my son ate like Perki!

 

[alp]

I had snowflakes at about 8am! Just a few!

 

[alp]

Christmas day was a bit of disappointment. The duck was not ready and it started with a tummy ache. Compared with a lot of people who were flooded or stranded in Kent, I shouldn't complain.

Had a full glass of Proseco and I thought I could hold the alcohol. Soon my face was hot and hand swollen and I felt freezing. But the time this effect wore off, I was hot. In fact, last night was incredibly hot.

The hens are better learners than my little emperor.

When I free ranged them, they had laid their eggs before 10am, which was a good idea. Around 10am there would be all 4 eggs. But lately, I couldn't free range them because of the covid regs.

Also, two days ago, I couldn't feed them straight away as I had to fish their eggs from the lower platform. I had the same psychological hang-up as Judy Judy - too short, so it took me a long time and a bit of struggle to fish the eggs with a long flower pot. By the time rolled down the long pot, some of them had a crack in the shell. Very frustrating. The hens saw their food, and also me fishing their eggs and could only moan. Yesterday, all 3 eggs were on the balcony. I reckoned they saw their food and learnt that they could eat it earlier if I hadn't taken so long to fish them out. I will do the same today. just to teach them not to torment me by laying their eggs in the lower tier.

I am going to bathe this blessed duck now. Hope you all spend a bit to make everybody, especially yourselves happy!

 

[Zenj]

Boxing Day time to relax and start eating all my Xmas chocolates cold and windy outside plenty of emails today from garden supplies seeds etc a lot offering free postage ,daughter gave me a nice hydroponics plant for Xmas nice colour .