in the garden

Our garden is really rather small (though the rental agency assures us it is medium). Also most of it is lawn and as we are renting we can't dig any of it up. And the border along one side is in the shade and has lots of prickly bushes planted in it. So I have grand garden dreams that have to be pared down to fit to the real garden size. However, as there is nothing I can change about this,  I like to approach it as a challenge to fit as many edible plants in as possible.

This is the sunny border. There are various shrubs in it that I can't dig up so last year I planted stuff in pots. This year I've been adding compost around the shrubs (the garden soil is pretty bad) and am going to plant directly in to that.

These are my two teeny weeny beds. Hannah has planted a pea next to one of the sticks ! I have planted spring onions at the end of the green bed.

Here's a small amount of garlic. Not sure why we didn't plant more, I think perhaps we only had a few cloves left and just stuck them in to see if anything would happen. I've planted some more spring onions in here.

Planted so far:
Feb 29 tomatoes inside on windowsills and beans in the shed with fleece on top.
March 3 spring onions

the makings

It's a long time ago already, but I'm finally getting round to posting the things I made for Christmas gifts.

First some teacup candles for the kindergarten teachers. (I followed the instructions here)

Some quick handwarmers. No finished photo for these. I mistakenly put the edging on the wrong edge, but then decided they fit better that way anyway.

Several jars of handcream. I love making this because it's really easy and quick, and the finished product is very nice.

A baby surprise jacket (I actually started knitting this a few years ago but the baby grew too big before it was finished. Luckily another one came along!)

A knitted crown. I like how it looked after I stitched the letters on.

And a colourful scarf (it's the child's rainbow scarf in 'Last minute knitted gifts' by Joelle Hoverson). I enjoyed making this one, I love knitting in Noro and watching the colours change is quite addictive).

yarn along

joining in with Ginny's yarn along

I am making these mittens. They are for a Christmas present ...... oops. I thought if I could finish them by the end of January that wouldn't be too bad, but progress is slow - look at all those needles ! Since this photo was taken I've finished the first mitten. I'm not very keen on the flip top as it has a gap around the side. I might have to redo the top slightly differently.

The book is my light bedtime reading. It's 'Look Great Naturally' by Janey Lee Grace. It has a lot of natural health and lifestyle tips, some of which are quite interesting. It is quite lightweight though.

yarn along

joining in with Ginny's yarn along

Two lots of Christmas knitting, both from Last Minute Knitted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson. The pink creation is the Children's cotton hat in Mission Falls 1824 cotton, and the stripy one is the Child's Rainbow scarf in Noro Kureyon (I love Noro so this was a must knit!). They are both really quick knits and the scarf in particular is very satisfying to knit. Now if I can only make a pair of handwarmers a day between now and Christmas everyone will get a present !

The book is 'Creativity' by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. It's about creativity in a cultural rather than personal context. It's an interesting read so far. He says that creativity, in the sense of making a difference to a particular area (maths, art, sculpture etc), is as much about the area itself and how contributions are assessed, as it is about the individual.

yarn along

joining in with Ginny's yarn along.

This is a hat I have been knitting for ages. It's been my 'in the car, 5 minutes now and then' knitting, but since the weather's getting cold, and it's getting towards Christmas it has been upgraded to 'finish as soon as possible' knitting, as I can then either wear it or gift it.

The book is 'How mothers love' by Naomi Stadlen, who also wrote 'What mothers do'. It's great. She has been running discussion groups for mothers for a long time, and the books are based on what she hears mothers talking about, and her insights. A lot of the quotes are from first time Mums of young babies, and it's really a good reminder of what those times were like. I find this useful for the breastfeeding support volunteering that I do, as it's all too easy to forget just what a complete upheaval the first baby is. But I have also found a lot in here of relevance to me now with a 2 and 4 year old - the chapters on fathers and mothering more than one child in particular. And her style is just lovely, observant and non-judgmental, but still full of interesting and thought provoking reading. It's not a how-to book but more of a what-is book.

yarn along

 joining in with Ginny's yarn along

I haven't done yarn along for months due to a bit of a knitting hiatus. However, thanks to the Friday craft mornings at Hannah's kindergarten, when I can knit without (many) distractions, I now have a finished top for Hannah. Hurrah ! The books are a couple I picked up at the library for when I have a garden that I can actually dig up (we are currently renting). Oh and a greenhouse so I can grow lots of tomatoes and hopefully even have some left after the kids have picked them to use as missiles (Hannah), or stuff down the drain (Thomas).

out and about Wednesday

Today we ventured to the King George recreation ground in Bushey. We chose this park because it had paddling pools. Hannah stayed in for about 3 hours with a short break for lunch.

Thomas opted for a rest after lunch with some light reading.

There was the added bonus of a funfair in the park. This was the first time that Thomas wanted to go on a carousel. He was not happy when he had to come off !