On Niddy Noddys and Hot Air Balloons!

I am currently being seriously rubbish at keeping up with my blog.... 100 lines, “I must try harder”.

Things have been pretty much ok at Mothball HQ. We are a few staff members down at work which has been a bit overwhelming at times but it has meant that I have learned some new skills (booking in groups) and had lots of opportunities to answer the phone (I’m honing that telephone voice technique!)

In real life I have been continuing the spinning. I treated myself to a new fleece – from a Dutch breed called a Zwartble. This fleece is mainly black with light tips and it has really long fibres. In essence this means it is a little easier to spin which I figured was a good thing for a learner. I have also created my first bobbin of yarn from two bobbins of thread wound together in the opposite direction than they were spun (are you still with me?). Now I need a piece of kit called a Niddy Noddy to wind the yarn into a skein. Well, I don’t actually need one, I could do it round the back of a chair but the idea of owning something called a Niddy Noddy fills me with such glee that I can’t suppress it.

The gardening is winding down. I have to admit that my half hour allotment visits have been a bit sporadic what with work and all. But the leeks are growing nicely and one pumpkin has overcome all odds and will hopefully provide some Hallowe’en centrepiece. Our plot is right on the corner of the allotments, nearest the entrance. This means it is easy to get too, not only for us but for everyone else. Unfortunately it means that all the local dog walkers seem to see it as fair game for their dogs to use.  People who have things to dump also seem to find it attractive. We’ve had bricks, rubbish, cuttings, you name it. Last week I found a lovely hanging basket, complete with flowers. I was tempted to hang it from my raspberry supports for some added colour! We have decided to make some form of fencing a priority over the Winter.

DD has passed her Fitness Instructor course – one proud Mother! She has gone on to do some extra courses so she can teach classes at her local gym. Of course, being a supportive type, I have been there at the classes. Power Pump is mostly fun. Loud ‘modern’ music and some hard work with weights. I am still struggling to move my arms for a couple of days afterwards but I am assured this will get better! The other class is enticingly called ‘Insanity’. I was swayed by the promise that there are actually only 15 minutes of exercise in this class. What they fail to tell you is that the 15 minutes are pure hell. To tell the whole truth, I was really swayed by the promise of Haribo after the class but so far this has failed to materialise.... I would like to tell you at this point that the classes have been totally worth it and I now have the physique of Linda Hamilton playing Sarah Connor in Terminator 2. That would be a lie and I suspect that the mirrors in the gym are in fact fairground mirrors because after all that pain my arse is still the size of a hot air balloon!

Oh well, back to those squats..... 

It's all about The Good Life (and raspberries)

Gooseberry and Mint Jam.

Well, so far so good with my ‘half hour allotmenting’ plan! I have been up there every night – I have even managed to drag a variety of family members up with the promise of “It’ll only be half an hour-tops”.

My useful book divides the half hour up into a list of jobs in descending order of importance. Picking, planting, weeding, watering then digging. In fairness I have struggled to get much beyond ‘picking’ as the raspberries and gooseberries have gone mad. Now, I like a raspberry or two but this is getting blooming ridiculous. I have made raspberry jam galore, raspberry jelly (that didn’t turn out so well), raspberry ice cream and raspberry crumble. Not to mention raspberry muffins and raspberry eton  mess. I am now scouring books for other interesting raspberry recipes to ring the changes a bit!

My raspberry collection device - proving most handy!

I tackled the gooseberries today. They aren’t my favourite fruit either to eat or to harvest (my poor arms) but I figured that as we had inherited a few bushes on the plot it was the least I could do to try and put some to good use. I have made a batch of gooseberry and mint jam and the rest we are turning into alcohol J I’m assured that gooseberry wine is very lovely indeed.....

DH wields the uncapping fork!

With all the picking and making it does all seem a little ‘Good Life’ round here but I am loving it! We managed to extract about 15lbs of honey from one of our hives which was an added bonus as we didn’t expect any. Fingers crossed there might even be a little more before the end of the season.  The garden is also producing well – broad beans are coming in and the ruby chard looks almost too beautiful to eat! Some things are struggling though – all the squashes are very behind and I don’t think we will see much from them this year. The courgettes are tiny (which isn’t a bad thing!) and the runner beans are only just making their way up the poles. I have even picked some sweet peas to enjoy in the house after I read somewhere that they produce far more flowers if you pick them regularly.

Well, off to create more exciting things with a raspberry – I’ve just seen something called a ‘miniature raspberry and basil financier’......I’m assuming it is for eating and not offering sound financial advice but I will let you know!

Balancing my Life

Had a quick visit to Sidmouth before the retreat.

It’s been a lovely couple of weeks for me here – must be something to do with all that cosmic energy that I keep hearing about!

I finally got to go on my Yoga Retreat and absolutely loved it.. My yoga teacher, Jane, hired out a whole holiday complex for us near Honiton in Devon. It consisted of a barn converted into 4 beautiful cottages and then further barns which housed dining/yoga space and a small fitness room plus outdoor hot tub. The hot tub and gardens had spectacular views over the Blackdown Hills. Now, I was a little nervous leading up to the retreat – I don’t always find it easy to meet new people and before the event I knew a grand total of one person. But, I was brave and tried not to worry about the thought of sharing my room with someone I didn’t know. (We discussed this concern at work and decided that no one could be weirder than me so it should rightfully be the other person who should be worrying!)

A view of the yoga barn

However, this concern proved unfounded and everyone I spoke to was very friendly indeed. My roommate happened to also be called Karen which made things nice and easy and the other ladies in our cottage were lovely (they even brought sneaky alcohol).

A beautiful view for journaling and relaxing!

The yoga was awesome – I had lots of chance to deepen my practice and really try new things and push myself a little bit further. Added to the yoga was opportunities to meditate, enjoy some wonderful healthy food and in between the classes we were free to do what we wanted. For me this meant trying the hot tub, having a massage and mostly reading. I brought along some deep and meaningful self improvement stuff but actually ended up reading from the Game of Thrones tome. Most of all I got the chance to RELAX and think and just be. It was truly blissful!

More Sidmouth

However, the downside of all this blissed out peace was that the new week back at work hit me like a ton of bricks.... Part of my deep thinking was to make some changes to my own routine – more yoga, better diet (ie less snacking), more time in the garden/allotment, less time on mindless TV and computers. However, after a couple of days I felt a bit overwhelmed by all the new changes I was asking of myself. So I decided to slow down and make smaller adjustments but all heading in the right direction. In a moment of pure synchronicity I found this book in a charity shop. We have been struggling a bit with keeping on top of our allotment recently and DH came home a couple of weeks ago in a major downer because all our hard graft had simply provided the world’s best picnic for the slugs. Not a single pea remained, not a carrot to be seen, even the onions had been nibbled! So I decided to do a sneaky thing and not tell him that I have been doing half an hour at the ‘lotty every night after work. So far there is not much of an improvement but I can see the onions again through the weeds and I have been picking copious amounts of raspberries. I have also dug a patch (the size of a postage stamp – but small steps, remember) This method is suiting me perfectly as I have a short attention span and it means I still have time to fit in all the other self improvements. Healthy eating? Oh yes. Snacking? Not a single thing has passed my lips (well, apart from an oat cracker the other night). Yoga practice? Most mornings, even just a cat/cow stretch is better than nothing! Technology? Yes, I have neglected my blog and mostly ignored Facebook.... I just have to get the balance right!