Hodge Podge
Over and out
Is it me, or are the mornings already darker? That came around fast, not so long ago it felt like the summer holidays were stretching off into the distance that the sun would beam down forever and then bam! Summers over, the children are back at school and there’s a million more things to do than before, endless homework for the kids and all the fun has disappeared.
I hate it when the boys go back, there’s no one to chat with or have a coffee with or just plain old hang out with, I admit, I miss them, they always make me laugh and help me a lot. So, you’ll forgive me if I say my children are my friends too. Even the dogs don’t understand why there’s nobody here, they keep sighing and looking about. At one point this morning our old spaniel was convinced one of our sons was in the bedroom and he demanded that I open the door, so he could see him. I of course obliged. His little face dropped when he saw the room was empty and he went off and threw himself on the floor in disgust, he’ll get over it, we all have to readjust a bit.
I was very lucky to have a gift of some lovely apples from one of our daughters and son in law, which is fantastic, I’m going to put them to good use and make pies, can some, ready for more pies or cakes and then if there’s any left some canned apple sauce, it’s so useful in recipes, lovely with roast pork too, so a big shout out thank you to them.
That will add another layer to our winter pantry, so far we have pickled eggs, strawberry jam, raspberry jam , chilli jam, which is hot and you eat with cold meats or on a bacon sandwich and now there’s going to be apples, thank goodness I saved so many jars earlier in the year, one other thing I’d like to do is make some chutney, but that’s not certain yet, maybe I will, maybe I won’t , it depends on the pennies and if I can get all of the ingredients too. I don’t make huge batches as it’s too expensive for me and
I’m worried I won’t eat it all, so penny numbers suits me fine.
My garden got a good frosting last night, lucky for me I’d already picked my tomatoes and beans I had growing on the deck in pots, when I went out this morning my frilly lettuce was frozen solid, shame really, but there you go, can’t be helped soon they will become part of my small compost heap so I can dig it into the soil next year and enrich the soil a bit. Next year I’d like to plant potatoes earlier and use more pots rather than dig up the garden, I’m not very sure where the lines are under the soil and I don’t fancy digging up a gas line, so pots will do for me, they make a garden much more portable, if one of your pots doesn’t flower as well as the others then you can move it out and put something else in, virtually no work involved, just a bit of pushing and shoving of the pot and it’s done.
Stay dogs seem to still be a thing around here, it’s a shame that so many do get lost through no fault of their own, or are dumped out in the sticks, why would anyone do that? We get more than our fair share of them around here, I feel sorry for them, suddenly abandoned and thrown away. Some are accidentally lost its true, some aren’t.
Please look after your pet. So many get run down on the roads’ such a shame and dangerous too.
As I write I can almost see the leaves turning brown on the trees outside, soon it will be white light I see reflected in the bathroom through the frosted glass, it’s a weird light but I like it and in six months it will give way to a soft pastoral green again.
Meanwhile I’m turning my thoughts towards Halloween, this year I’d like to be ready earlier, fingers crossed for a brown Halloween, we won’t be trick or treating this year, we will be the ones handing out the candy, nice, and it means I can have more time to decorate the place inside and out.
As always, be nice to one another.