Slow Living - Doing It Old Style!

nannygladys

My slow living today was spending some time at my allotment. I haven't been since last August (eye surgery and unable to drive). It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be, so spent a couple of hours planning where 'things' are going to be grown and some gentle weeding and clearing the  netting away. Couldn't see anything living in the pond but a robin joined me when I started weeding intently watching for worms 🙂 feels so tranquil there, my little bit of heaven.

Floss

nannygladys said:

... Couldn't see anything living in the pond but a robin joined me when I started weeding intently watching for worms 🙂 feels so tranquil there, my little bit of heaven.

Probably all tucked in the muddy depths, but give it a month or so & the frogs will be out & about. I love having robin companions when gardening 😊

Slowdown

Slow time today was a walk through the forest and some leaf raking in the garden. Lovely even in the cold. 

Cherryfudge

My slow time was getting my crochet out again - fingerless gloves to give as gifts. It's odd that I have to look up each stitch before I use it but in no time muscle memory takes over and I don't have to check again.

These were supposed to be for last Christmas but rather than rush, I got ahead of things for next time! (Two and a half of three pairs done).

leftatthetrafficlights

@kayannie - thank you for the suggestion of using a fat ball container for for my fire bricks 😁 They are not something that I buy for the birds but my bicarb container is roughly the same size and will serve the purpose until I can source a larger bucket - my dd is going to keep an eye on fb for a freebie/very cheap wine making bucket for me so hopefully I'll be lucky! 🤞 

@nannygladys - your allotment sounds wonderful! I love this planning part of the gardening year; we still have some work to do on our plans and have seeds to order but I dug out the growlights yesterday to check that they are working before I start sowing my chillis and early salad crops. 

@Floss - I love having robins around me while I'm in the garden too 😍 I love the way they are so impatient to get to the possibility of food in the earth that they get closer and closer as I'm weeding 😂 Last year we had newts in our pond - I can't describe how excited I was with that!! I hope they'll return this year - we've had no frogs yet but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I'll be lucky this year 🤞 

@Slowdown - forest walking and leaf raking sound wonderful!! I adore being in trees - there is something truly magical about it. We are lucky that we have a good sized wood about a 15 minute drive away and we go there reasonably regularly with the grandbaby. It has quite a few pine trees so I always take a bag and pick up small branches that have fallen - they make fabulous firelighters/kindling once dry and also smell amazing! 

@Cherryfudge - I am always in awe of people who can crochet and/or knit! I can't do either (nor can I sew🤦‍♀️) - a friend once tried to teach me but I don't have the manual dexterity for it (I'm more like a spider wearing mittens under the influence of hallucinogenics!! 😳😂) and I've seen the sort of patterns used and feel that I'd need degrees in maths and physics to understand them!! 🤯 

Today we may need to go shopping - dh needs some more salad stuff for his lunches but may be able to hold out until Tuesday. We've done really well on the grocery front so far and I'm hoping to continue with that this week. I tried two new recipes last week both of which were lovely and almost entirely made from stuff I already had in. I've already decided on three meals this week (all from the freezer/storecupboard) which will probably cover at least 5 days due to repurposing the leftovers. 

In other frugal news, I spent some time yesterday on YouTube checking out how to make laundry detergent from ivy - I was looking at making some from conkers but obviously that has a limited time period and I missed the window last year. I have mountains of ivy in my garden and the laundry liquid I buy is very expensive even though I get it on a refill basis (vegan, environmentally friendly and ethical = expensive for most stuff !! 🙄) so I'm going to make some this week and try it out. If it's successful, it will be a considerable saving for me and its obviously incredibly sustainable!! I also watched a video on making blackberry ketchup and teas from purple dead nettle and cleavers! I'm keen to try all of those as I have an abundance of them all during the year either in my garden or in local hedgerows and want to make the most of what nature provides 😁

Introducing my morning routine has not been successful as yet - I think some of it is down to the past two weeks not feeling 'normal' really. A variety of factors have meant that the stuff that happens on a normal week hasn't occurred and adaptations have been needed. This has impacted on my ability to introduce new stuff but I should be able to begin from tomorrow now that things have settled. I'm sure that once the routines are established and embedded it will be a lot easier to accommodate curveballs!! 😉 

Anyway, time for my chamomile tea - have a fabulous slow Sunday!! 

MrsCatz

@zcrat41 Certainly, I cheated using pre-made pastry. The filling I cooked finely diced  carrot, potato and spring onion, mixed it with 1 teaspoon chilli power, 1/2 teaspoon each of garlic powder and onion powder and grated cheese. As I had some left over mincemeat I made sweet ones too, glaze pastry with a beaten egg and cooked on gas mark 6 until they looked done. 

amber03

I used to have an allotment but the committee were a nightmare. They wanted all plots to be perfect , so many do’s and dont’s. If u didn’t keep it up to date you would receive a written warning. After 2 warnings you would be evicted. Unsurprisingly they have loads of plots available now as people got fed up with the. Shame as I enjoyed it and was one of the few that could grow carrots.x

mrs_motivated

@Smudgeismydog. Congratulations on you imminent retirement, I am really looking forward to retiring but have got just over three years to go and can only imaging how lovely it will feel when there is just six months to go.

Well I had a lovely week in Yorkshire with my DD and baby DGD,  although not that slow with a newborn in the house.  However I did enjoy myself and went on a baby photo shoot, the studio was so warm and played soothing music designed to help the baby relax…..well it worked on me, 15 minutes in and I almost fell asleep.

i also went to a baby sensory class and that was just adorable,  I loved seeing all the mummies and babies having a great time, it was a 0-6 month class and it was amazing how the little ones were engaged with the songs and sensory experiences…..but suspect the mummies and the token Grandma (AKA me) enjoyed it even more.

I’m back home now and have had a slow relaxing weekend.  Went on a lovely walk with the dogs and Mr. M,  replenished the bird feeders, refilled the fridge ( which Mr M managed to empty while I was away, but he is forgiven as he cleaned the house from top to bottom before I got back) so shopping was the only chore other than washing this weekend and popped in for coffee and cake on the way back from the supermarket.

have a lovely slow week everyone.

Slowdown

Happy Slowday everyone. 

Another slow day at Chez Slowdown. 😊
I had a long hurkle-durkle followed by a slow breakfast with big weekend i newspaper crossword aided by DH and DS2. 

Lazy lunch with a couple of library colleagues and then some of my stained glass window work. 

Smashing. 😊

leftatthetrafficlights

@amber03 - what an awful experience with your allotment!! 😳 that's such a shame as so many people get such pleasure from them and they are a really important environmental resource in urban areas.

@mrs_motivated - your week sounds lovely and an added bonus that Mr M sorted the house while you were away!! 🙌😁 Glad you managed to stay awake at the photo shoot - could have been some interesting piccies!! 😉😂 

@Slowdown - sounds like a lovely Sunday but what on earth is a hurkle-durkle!!??? 😳😂 Stained glass window work sounds interesting- do you do it in a class or at home? 

Yesterday went as planned - finished the meal plan; finished the garden planning, seed sorting and seed ordering; started on my first new book of the year; cooked dinner; did some laundry; fed the wildlife and then relaxed 😁 

Today I'm planning to get on with the shredding for the compost bins and the firebricks, do some more reading, a yoga session and depending on the weather, I may venture out for a walk! 

Happy slow Monday!! 😁