Yep that's really helpful......

Monday morning I awoke with the lark, or the cockerel crowing or something like that, either way I was up at 5, had my coffee and was raring to go.

The chickens were still blinking at me bleary eyed when I opened the hen house at 6, bunch of slackers that they are they don't rise until 8 as a rule.  The baby bunnies were all still curled up around their mummy while I was busy getting their feed and water, very cute.

With the animals sorted I decided to tackle a few weeds in the garden after the weekend storm.

So you need to picture the scene now:  I have been awake for a couple of hours, done the morning animal chores, managed to get the sole pair of nice-ish clean pyjamas dirty (because of course I didn't get dressed when I got up so as not to disturbed gently sleeping other half), so I am in my clean on 24 hours ago pjs, in my muck boots, now speckled with chicken poo and dirty animal drinking water, hoeing the garden for all I am worth in 20°C at 9 in the morning - when my dearly beloved stumbles to the front door.

He asks if I want coffee - I point out I am streaming with sweat because I am a tad warm but could do with a glass of water.  He shuffles back inside.

Half an hour later he shuffles back outside - would I like any help - I reply - very calmy - that would be lovely thank you.  (I do not at this point mention the water).

Half an hour goes by as he finds his gloves, goes to the barn to get a hoe, remembers that all my gardening stuff is now in the garage - where he told me to move it to in order to free up the space in the barn 3 months ago, so gets his hoe, and comes and stands in the same row I am working my way down.  I point out that another row would be a better place for him to start work.  He shuffles off.

I work down the row of cabbages, turn the corner and start down the row of beetroots.  It is very hot.  I have been outside working for a couple of hours now, I manage to refrain from mentioning the water and opt to just finish the weeding then call it a day in the garden.

As I turn around I catch from the corner of my eye the industrious hard work happening at the bottom of the garden as he weeds the pumpkin row - then I shake myself awake from my day dream and spy him eyeing up the redcurrants - there are some ripe for picking again - he cries.  I know - I reply, but I am trying to weed before it gets too hot to do anything ourside - oh yeah - he says - quite hot isn't it already.  Half an hour passes as he stares at the beautiful clear blue sky.

I work my way up the patty pan squash row, through the salads, then the tomatoes, around the fennel, around the cucumbers and get to the pea canes, only two rows of these and the whole top half of the garden is weeded and I can get a my glass of water because it is really very hot, and I have been working for a few hours now and a break would be good.

As I turn the corner to the peas, I spy a hoe on the ground and no other half attached to it - ah I think - he remembered the water, still better late than never.  But no - no sign of him, and the pumpkins could only be considered weeded if by weeded you meant untouched.

I thought I'd help you with the peas - he says from beside me.  Oh lovely but I've nearly finished weeding now and then I'm going inside for a bath - I say.

Oh thats OK - says he - I'll  pick them when you've finished weeding then you can pod them and put them in the freezer.



ARRRGGHHHHHH - said I.

What do you get when ............

................ you cross radish seeds, chinese red leaf salad and a month of rain?

Well four foot tall plants of course.

Here is Thea modelling the salad poly tunnel, in the foreground the chinese red leaf that is now over a metre tall, and just behind her are the radish plants, gone to seed but again over a metre tall. You can see from the hoop height how tall the plants were supposed to be.

Today has definitely been a gardening day, what with an hour and half of grass mowing, then some potato care, first a bit of colorado beetle squashing, then a quick spray around with copper sulphate solution. After all that rain, and now the temperatures rising, the risk of mildew is very high.

The little things in life...

...that give us pleasure.

I love squared paper.  Call me a little retentive (probably a lot retentive would be more appropriate), but I love to write and make notes on squared paper.

In my teens I went on a French exchange from school and whilst in France bought some blocks of squared paper - which is commonly used here as school note books and scribble pads, and fell in love with it then.  On occasion I have found it in the UK, normally at one of those high street discount shops, or European supermarkets, but now I am here in France I get to use it all the time.

I like the way I can draw out designs on it and how easy it is to scale them up, I like the way I can make my own cross stitch patterns on it and see how they work out, and I like the way I can section it up to remind me of what I need to do, how to do it, and what I need in order to do it, basically I just like it!

Anyway - using my pad of squared paper, yesterday I drew up a pattern for a reversible bag on it, then scaled that up onto some of the glossy publicity paper, and started cutting up the vintage material I bought at the flea market on Sunday.

The hectic pace continues, after Wednesday's flooding of the field, which coincided with a job interview, and Thea's friend coming over, we had guests in the morning, visitors in the afternoon (at least two of the cars have now gone and my garden looks less like a scrapyard today) and went out for a meal last night.  

Typically French, the starter appears at 9.30 after two and half hours of aperos - we all fell on the food like the starving hordes, and it was midnight before we got to coffee.
Now I have to smarten myself up and get ready for work for my first day with my new client - I guess the general disorder 'chez nous' did not put off my new employer on Wednesday then!

With me in the dog house with the tower, I am back to the laptop - so before posting any photos will have to download all the software again first.  Bag photos will follow - although saying that I now can't remember whether I took any 'in progress' shots so it may just be the finished article.

At least the sun is out this morning.  I may even get some gardening done this afternoon - it's either that or a quick power nap when I get in from work.

Riders on the storm and a frugal shopping list

With the temperatures of the last few days it is not surprising that we have a storm forecast now.

In a bid to get the garden ready for a good watering, I weeded out the herb garden completely. This will be its last weed of the year, I only have so much time and patience for weeding and I have exhausted it now. Everything is large enough to take care of itself against the influx of clover and grass now. I did sow a last couple of patches with some parsley seeds I found knocking about the bottom of my seed trug, no idea how old they are now but before they get any older I might as well throw them in and see what they do.


The flower bed needs a last weed too, and then the poppies and daisies have to fend for themselves too.

I plant everything very closely together and if something starts to dominate I just cut it back, like the mint or the horseradish. I would rather that the whole area looked green and full than regimented rows of things with bare dirt in between. I jumble stuff up as well and have often sown parsley and chives in with the flowers and asters and marigolds in the herb garden. I like the way it looks when the beds are full and overflowing with life, much more natural, full of vitality and the bees seem to like it too.

By the time I drove back from work I was chasing the tails of the storm, and had just enough time to get the last onions and carrots in the ground before the rain started.

Now the sun is back out but the garden smells fresh and clean and is beautifully and evenly watered throughout - perfect.

That just leaves me enough time now to go and sort out some materials ready for my next recycled bag.

Tomorrow my project is to pattern cut - I have several colour schemes in mind but have not had the time to do the unpicking and patching to make enough material in one run to cut the basic bag shapes, so I want to make a start tonight, because as well as some studio time tomorrow I also have to go shopping.

Supermarket hell.

Whilst visiting the local bio (organic) shop is great for the odd bits and pieces we are also living a very frugal life and that means supermarket budget buying, things like creme fraiche and natural yoghurt are a quarter of the price of the bio versions, and my family want sandwich fillers like ham and tuna.

I cook the majority of my meals from scratch and apart from the odd pizza I don't buy any ready meals but there are also occasions when my other half is the meal provider and then we need something simple for him to throw in the oven and forget about, then serve with some chips or salad, (Gordon Ramsey he is not).

And then there are sweeties. We all like a sweetie, especially car sweeties for me, I have to have them otherwise I get car sick - even when I am the one doing the driving!

I would love to be able to ignore the attractions of the supermarket, but even with having cut back on so many of the things that I used to buy in another life, some things just can't come from anywhere else, like coffee - I like a cup of instant mud in the morning, not a fancy pot of arabica.

At least I can grow and raise a large percentage of my family's food requirements, and know that these are organic, free range and pesticide free, but I can't be completely self-sufficient in food.

Frugal and organic are not two sides of the same coin, and when I only have one coin to spend, frugal wins every time.