Reflections

I have been thinking a lot about this blog, I have neglected it shamefully, it is a good time to make changes as I am a new stage in my life, I retired officially  at the beginning of the year, but have been foundering a bit lately, its seems I am busier than when I was working!  I realise that many friends and family thinking I was retired that I could be at their beck and call.  It has made me realise that I want and need a quiet life, not to be running hither and thither! So, I am starting to learn how to say no.  I want to have time to savour my garden, produce good food, and have time to reflect on and enjoy the simple things of life.  By doing this I hope I will be able to give my friends and family quality time.  So I have given my blog a face lift and made a commitment to myself to slow down.

We are in the thick of winter, and it is so easy to sit back and enjoy the warmth of indoors!  Not so, for a gardener who wants to be able to live of her small urban plot. 

My winter garden

 Spring is around the corner and it is time to think about and order seeds. Every year, I have made a promise to myself that I was going to try and be self-sufficient in Vegetables and Fruit.  Every year I failed.  Why?  I could blame the weather for a bad harvest!  I am sorry to say, however that is not the real reason – I am not a very organised gardener, I am haphazard and easily seduced by exotics!  I cannot go past something that is different and strange! I plant them in ground that should really be put aside for the basics.  For instance I need to grow more potatoes especially at the price they are now in the shops $3 a kilo, I ask you! You use to be able to buy 10 kilo bags, but as they are so dear now they probably know people won’t or can’t to afford to buy, even at a special price.

So, taking in account my weaknesses, I have decided to make my vegetable garden bigger, I can use my front garden, which I have tended to ignore, for a wonderful display of flowers.  Knowing me, a vegetable or two might pop in, well there is a grape vine already!  As to the problem of my bad organisation skills I am going to solve by posting more on this blog. I am hoping it will keep me focused. I have made a commitment to sustain myself with my garden. 

To whet my appetite - I am going to include recipes for my produce.  I love to cook, but sometimes get a bit lazy and just do the same recipes over and over, get bored and then end up throwing the surplus in the compost bin, which is not very thrifty.  So I am going to try to include recipes that are new to me or variations of the usual. 

Tomato Muffins and a Salad

To help me I have my three cats who supervise my activities very carefully and will provide necessary humour. . As any gardener will tell you have to have a sense of humour when gardening or you may well run inside screaming when your carefully tended crop has been pecked to pieces by the local birds, snails and slugs feast on your newly planted lettuces, cats scratch up your seed bed. Ambrose and Zana boss me about, and Lucy supervises from the window, making sure a spot for her toilette is provided!  They provide companionship and are so funny with their antics

 

Zana (in the chair) and Ambrose enjoying the shade in my quiet spot last summer

It is time to plant peas and broad beans, and if the weather forecast is correct for tomorrow it will just right for a yummy big pot of soup, I wonder.......