Friday 15 January 2021

Trying to Get Motivated

 

The allotment In January 2021

I took delivery of my weekly shopping yesterday afternoon.  A couple of items were substituted.  They had no 4 pint cartons of milk and no sweetheart cabbage (again) although they did send 2 x 2 pints of milk and a small savoy cabbage so all is not lost.  G usually gets a treat of 2 bottles of beer, but they were out of stock too so he will have to go without.  The shopping came to £46.92 and I've ordered more meat for G this time; a pack of lean diced beef for the slow cooker, which will make him 3 meals; a pack of 8 sausages for hot dogs and to serve with veg and gravy; and a pack of bacon for weekend breakfasts.  The thing I forgot to order is CAKE 😒 so I will have to have a baking day at some point or G will get withdrawal symptoms!

I'm trying to factor some form of moving into my day right now.  With the weather being so cold and, frankly, dark and dismal every day, it's so hard to get motivated.  We are told to stay at home but it's driving us mad.  On Tuesday we took a long walk to the local Crematorium where lots of family members are buried, ashes interred or scattered and, probably, where we will ultimately end up 😅 I'm ashamed to say that it has been so long since I last visited that it took me a while to locate the plot where my mum and dad are. The whole site has been opened up and extended so much that it all looked completely different but I found their stone in the end.  When we can, we intend to go back and take a plant or something so that it doesn't look neglected. Even if I could get hold of some flowers they wouldn't last 5 minutes in the bitter cold.  

As you can see from the photo above, our allotment is totally bare.  This shot gives a better idea of how much ground we have to cultivate.  The area covered by polythene sheeting nearest the camera will be the potato bed, the next prepared bed will contain fruit bushes (G has put in 6 raspberry canes and a blackberry)  The apple trees need pruning but we hope to do it in slightly warmer weather.

I have also taken up my knitting needles again.  I used to knit quite a lot of baby stuff for charity but, with the shops all being closed, it seems a bit pointless so I'm knitting myself some fingerless mittens.  I quite fancy knitting a long cardigan but can't get the yarn I like as it's out of stock.  I think the whole country must be knitting! Nay....perhaps the world!  

Are you a knitter?  What do you have on the go?

Before I go, a warm welcome to another new follower.  I'm sorry I can't tell who you are.  Blogger has removed the facility of hovering over the avatar to find the name.  Welcome anyway 😀

Stay safe everyone wherever in the world you happen to be x


2021 Food Spend to date:

January  £46.35    £93.27

19 comments:

  1. Just finished my 1st pair of socks this year, we rejected a few substitute items on this week's shopping. I managed one walk this week, it's beeb really wet here.

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    1. Wish I could knit socks, but wouldn't know where to start.

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  2. I do knit but at the moment I am crocheting a baby blanket. I had to go out for a shop as we were unable to get a delivery slot.

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    1. I saw your photo of the blanket and it is beautiful MM. I can't crochet unfortunately. How frustrating not to get a shopping slot. I hope you have better luck next week.

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  3. I recently ordered from Wool Warehouse and the lady said the world took up knitting 5 minutes after Boris announced another lockdown! But I did get my wool the next day.

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    1. Blimey, I was right then. Well done for getting yours Tania.

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  4. I am definitely a knitter. Working on a small just over the shoulder poncho right now. Using up those large single balls and skeins of yarn for a bit.

    God bless.

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    1. Knitting is soothing, I find. A small poncho sounds perfect for using up stash x

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  5. I’ve just finished a dusky pink beanie hat for my daughter. It has a reflective strand in it, so I made it for her to wear when she walks Bumble at night.
    Now I’m knitting several dishcloths with some lovely cotton yarn. My son thought it was highly funny to knit dishcloths, but actually admitted they were really nice to use.....result! :)

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    1. One can never have too many hats in winter! I've never made dishcloths, Ann, maybe I should try it 🙂

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  6. It's THE most dismal part of the year for looking at growing areas, the one saving grace here is all the Snowdrops that have opened up during this last week giving us a glimpse of fresh white in amongst all the muddy grass. And most importantly reminding me to dig some up to take with us.

    I'm knitting nothing, I do have four balls of wool that I could turn into dishcloths though so I might rummage around for a crochet hook and crochet them up.

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    1. Yes, Sue, it is dismal right now. I would definitely take your snowdrops when you move because they cost a fortune to buy. We bought a small pot of them recently and they cost £7 🙄

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  7. I look after the family graves going back to my great grandparents I go in the £1 shops and buy £10's worth of the silky type flowers at a £1 each and then when I get home cut them down so that they are small enough to go in their little pots (I usually get about 4 blooms from each £1 stem) - it means that when I can't there (over 50 miles away) they still have some colour on the plots, they don't die off and it makes it easier for me to locate the plots when I do go, it's hard sometimes to find them all - I do 5 plots and it costs me £20 a year to keep them looking nice - I know you can't go in a £1 shop at the mo but thought the idea might perhaps be useful in the future xx

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    1. That's a brilliant idea, Trudie, thank you. It's something for me to try once the pound shops reopen. There are also other family members at the same Crem so, once I locate them too, they can have a silk posy as well. Real flowers cost so much anyway that I'm hoping to grow some for cutting at the allotment this year x

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  8. It's so miserable with the weather so wet and dismal, I'm itching to get in the garden again. A cardigan for me is on the knitting needles at the moment.

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    Replies
    1. It won't be long before we can begin our gardens again Sue. Enjoy your knitting in the meantime!

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  9. My short list for next time, is stuck on miso and pea flour.

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  10. I have always enjoyed knitting but don't have anything on pins at the moment. My recent discovery of crochet has taken over the top craft position at the moment. Going to have a wander down the garden now to see what is starting to reappear, maybe some brave snowdrop.

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  11. I'm constantly knitting and always have a number of projects on the go, during this lockdown I am challenging myself to learn some colorwork knitting and have cast on a cardigan as part of a class.. !

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It's OK.....

  Angie 💓 xx