Away From The Madding Crowd

bluenose1

I could just eat your simple pleasure now .
Was at my auntie’s funeral yesterday so feeling slightly delicate today, though I was reasonably sensible and didn’t drink too much, unlike my sister who got home after midnight !!!!.

This weeks mission is to find the wild garlic in our garden and dig it up after the advice on here. 

Savvy_Sue

My bugbear is bluebells. The foreign ones, not British. I suspect that in the early years in this house I just thought "pretty". 20 years on ...

Every year now I try to blitz different sections of the garden, hoping that I'll weaken their regrowth, if nothing else. 

This afternoon I spent 2.5 hours. I've cleared half a fence section and rescued some of the strawberries from being overshadowed, but there are still so many. And they're EVERYWHERE.

I have 2 lemon balm plants, which are a kind of mint, and honestly they're a doddle compared to the bluebells. The sage is a bit thuggish too, but again, NOTHING like as bad as the bluebells.

Did you know, bluebells self-seed (so I pull off as many flowerheads as I can), AND split their bulbs, AND grow tuberous roots which produce more plants? They're like triffids...

uralmaid

I dig out the non British bluebells too. Hope you are ok @bluenose1.

Katiehound

Savvy_Sue said:

 

I have 2 lemon balm plants, which are a kind of mint,  

Being pedantic-sorry- they are not mint! nowhere near as invasive for starters.....

Did you know you can make herbal tea with fresh lemon balm?
Lots of interesting recipes here:
https://www.yummly.co.uk/recipes/lemon-balm

Nebulous2

We have the somewhat neglected grounds of an old estate near us, which provides some good dog walks, with wildlife, foliage, and some unusual (imported) trees. 

I haven't been for a while, and today it was absolutely teeming with wild garlic. It was in flower and the smell, though pleasant in moderation, was slightly overpowering. There's a local folk tale of a French merchant ship bringing it in, then it made itself at home.   We've never eaten it, as we were unsure what to do with it. I'll need to try making pesto.

There are also yellow raspberries, with a nice pink flower at this time of year, though they are slightly past their best. 

Parts of the estate will be carpeted with bluebells later, mostly the local variant, but there are some Spanish ones mixed in.

Finally to top off our simple pleasures today, we saw a tree creeper, much closer than we normally get - they tend to be quite careful of people.  

Katiehound

Nebulous2 said:

 

Finally to top off our simple pleasures today, we saw a tree creeper, much closer than we normally get - they tend to be quite careful of people.  

Lucky you: haven't seen one of those (even from a distance!!) for ages.

Humboldt

@bluenose1 hope that the funeral went well.  Always seems odd when we say that, but I am sure you know what I mean. 

@Savvy_Sue thank you for sharing the useful information about foreign bluebells.

@uralmaid hope that you are enjoying being back at home after a busy week. It's lovely to be away, but so nice to come home.

@Katiehound lemon balm can also be used to make a very yummy lemon balm drizzle cake. 

@Nebulous2 there is often some truth within local folk tales. Great spot with the tree creeper. I am no expert and you might want to check, but I think wild garlic leaves become bitter when the flowers appear.  

I so appreciate you all taking the time to comment. 

Today's simple pleasure - the day has started with sunshine and a coffee. 

Humboldt

Hello and welcome.

Motivational quote of the week

The most beautiful things are not associated with money; they are memories and moments. If you do not celebrate those, they pass you by – Alek Wek.

Money Saving

Our monthly grocery budget for me and my DH is £250.  Week 2 spend for April was £55.69.  Total spend to date is £129.66.

My side hustle (crafting) has made £94.80 between January and March.  The monies have been transferred to our Birthday/Christmas account. 

I was gifted lots of homegrown bay leaves that are now drying in the airing cupboard.

When visiting a local market town, we found a White Stuff 100% merino wool jumper in the sale for DH.  A bargain at £25 (originally priced at £75).

This week’s main menu

Monday – Spanish pork shoulder steaks with beans (Go0d Food recipe). Pork was reduced in price and frozen until required. 

Tuesday – Ping Meal – As above (cook once – eat twice).

Wednesday – Pumpkin, spinach, and coconut biryani (W@itrose recipe), onion bhaji’s and mango chutney stirred through some of the Greek yogurt. I will substitute the pumpkin with butternut squash.

Thursday – Ping Meal.

Friday – Lentil Bolognese (Oc@do recipe) with wholewheat spaghetti. Tinned green lentils are used for this recipe and only 49p a tin at Ald!.

Saturday – Tuna with ratatouille (H@iry Dieter’s recipe) I will replace the tuna with basa.  Basa was reduced in price and frozen until required. Leftover spinach will be wilted and served as a side veg. 

Sunday – Cottage pie (H@iry Dieter’s recipe) with kale. I will top with mashed swede, carrots, and sweet potato. Mince was reduced in price and frozen until required.

Breakfasts continue to feature oats and lunches will include homemade soups from the freezer. This week’s overnight oats will include fresh blueberries that were reduced in price.

Healthier Lifestyle

Completed 2 free workouts via F@bulous50’s on Y0uTube.

Step count last week was 49,454.

Completed 4 free meditations.

Simple pleasures

Books read 6/2024 – Driving Over Lemons by Chris Stewart.  I bought this book several years ago to read whilst on holiday, and have enjoyed re-reading it.  Music fans may know that Chris Stewart was the original drummer in Genesis (he played on the first album).  He went on to do lots of other things, but this book is about his decision to buy and run a mountain farm in Andalusia, Spain.  It details how he and his wife adjust to their new lifestyle. Life gets tough, but also gets good.

DH and I enjoyed a trip to a local market town.  We had a browse around the independent shops and enjoyed a coffee and bacon bun for lunch, before going to a garden centre where I bought 3 white regale lilies.  Having planted the lilies in a pot, they are now in the cold frame until the weather improves.

The vibrant colours of the new leaves on the acer trees in the garden. These trees were no more than tiny saplings when I bought them for £2.99 in Te$co many years ago.  Whilst they are still only small trees in pots, they provide a lovely setting for my little seated Budda ornament.

Thanks for dropping by and taking the time to read my diary.

 

bluenose1

Enjoyed your weekly update as ever Humboldt, reminder to self not to read this before lunch….
Just relaxing after 90 minute walk in woods, had wind, hailstones and sunshine. Was actually very enjoyable, still plenty of dog walkers out and as we see each other quite often nice to have a chat.
Have cooked  a chicken in my airfryer so having salad for lunch and the leftovers will be for a curry tomorrow.
Never heard of Chris Stewart but I think I would like to read about his experiences in Spain, I  like reading about real life more than fiction.

uralmaid

@Humboldt - thanks. We arrived home late Saturday evening. 3 days of heard work but we got the job done. Both of us are full of aches and pains now.  Whilst we were there another friend of ours let us know his house move is completing this Friday (we had said we would help) so I will be donning my rubber gloves and cleaning.  Managed to come away from Cambridgeshire with 3 plant cuttings which I hope will take.  Also when I arrived home, a plant I had ordered had arrived and been sat in the mailbox for 3 days. Hopefully it is now recovering. You have managed to cram lots in as usual.