Gone again

My phone that is. It died yesterday while I was trying to send a message so I cast it aside, and I have to assume Ivy has since run off with it and squirreled it away, as I've all but turned the house upside down looking for it. I've about given up on it now which is actually quite liberating. The only thing is I am unable to take any photographs as my camera died a few months ago too.
I find having a smart phone a bit difficult. I only got it a few months ago - a hand me down from my Mum that I asked for as my camera was on the rocks and I wanted to start using Instagram for my drawings. I swore I wouldn't, but I have to admit I have struggled with how addictive it is. I don't use it for much really, I don't have apps (apart from instagram, and more recently whatsapp, which I was suckered into going onto by the inlaws so I can send them photos of Ivy, now it beeps at me all the time) but I still find myself checking it a lot. I hate it, and hide it from myself under cushions etc to get a break from its glare. I have toyed with the idea of getting rid of it and going back to a stupidphone, but I can't do without the camera at the moment for my art as I have nothing else to take photos for submissions with. It's a toughy, although perhaps a decision that's been made for me now as it's nowhere to be seen.
There's not a lot new here really which is the reason for the lack of posts. We are still trying to work out the best way to manage our finances. I am trialing doing our weekly shop at the co-op in Ammanford during the week as they always have a lot of reduced veg and cupboard stuff. I managed our weekly shop yesterday for £12 (including a £7.99 bottle of olive oil down to £2.80!) We should need anything else apart from milk, and they have started selling the childrens soya milk that we give to Ivy in the village now (amazing) so there is no need for us to go to the big tesco anymore, something I don't really enjoy anyway.
I have had three more pieces accepted into an exhibition in Carmarthen which is lovely and very nice to feel like my work is paying off, only so far it literally isn't. With the cost of materials and framing I think I am going to need to either work out a limit I can spend on this, or rethink how much I want to be exhibiting. It's a bit of a catch 22 though, if I don't show, I don't sell, so... Something I need to think about, decide how important it is to me.
I went out into the garden today to check on my prize pumpkin that I've been nurturing this autumn to find that the slugs have gotten to it. I had planned to harvest it for Halloween, so I'm gutted really. We had a lot of rain  yesterday, I should have thought, but we live and learn.
I officially stopped nursing Ivy 8 days ago, and since then have had a real slump in mood and energy, I assume a hormonal adjustment, so there's nothing else to say really as the bulk of my spare time (har har) is spent lying on the sofa feeling gloomy.
So I'll be off, and leave this appropriate song by Placebo, who despite Brian Molko being poorly were excellent in Cardiff last weekend.

On show

A busy week, or week and a half, with first my Mum and then my mother-in-law visiting. All returns to normal this afternoon. I had hoped with the extra pair of hands I would get a lot of those lingering jobs done, but of course it never works out that way when you have guests and I plan to spend the rest of the week catching up in the hope that all will be in order by the weekend, and THEN I can get on with those lingering jobs.
We had the opening of the Myths and Legends exhibition in Ponty on Friday which was fun. I was really pleased with the placement of my work and though it looked smart. It was lovely to see my work on show again.

They released a call for submissions for the next exhibition a couple of days ago. As this exhibition will fall over the Christmas period you can submit up to eight pieces as they may accept some on reserve only, for when work sells. I am planning to submit the maximum. I will mostly submit drawings I already have, but have set myself the goal of three new drawings again, to keep me motivated.
At the weekend I might meet friends in Ponty to see my work and then get some cake afterwards (I consider it my vegan duty to buy cake wherever possible). I also have a whole load of spring bulbs to plant and put in the fridge, housework and gardening to catch up on and of course jam to make, as well as getting a good start on some new drawings, so it's all go at the moment. We won't have any visitors now for about three weeks so there should be plenty of time to find a bit of routine again. Anyway, that wasn't really about much but there we are!

Birthday celebrations and back to normal

Well I've had a lovely couple of days with my Mum visiting. It was my birthday on Wednesday, and it was a day filled with nice things, though of course we didn't have time for half of the things I'd have liked to have done.
I spent the morning jamming and preserving including making lemon and orange curd, which I LOVE but had never gotten around to trying a vegan recipe. My jam shelf has started to look a lot healthier, but there is still a lot of fruit in the kitchen (and on the hedges) so I am just waiting on more jars now.

I had some lovely presents including a fabulous cushion from Pam and a Victorian book about ferns from Will

a new, much needed shoulder bag from my Mum

Flowers from the girls at Playgroup

a garden-y necklace from my mother in law

and (very handy!!) thermal socks from my sister in law

Mum and I (and Ivy) went for a walk in the morning and collected a big box of haws each (which are now dripping in a hedgerow mix ready for jelly). I may try to use the pulp this time as there's also apples, elderberry and blackberry in there. It will only go in the composting otherwise.
In the afternoon it was filthy weather. We went to playgroup with Ivy, and then later on Pam came over for tea and cookies and a chat which was lovely as always. We had apple and tofu stew for tea, and baked apples with ice cream to celebrate Autumn coming in. In all I had a very nice, very peaceful birthday.
We don't really need to go shopping this week. We did a big shop last week and it will last us for another if we just pick up a couple of bits and bobs while we're in Ammanford today. My mother in law is staying from today until Tuesday so hopefully we will get up to some fun stuff in the next few days. As long as the weather isn't horrible we are planning to go to the National Botanical Gardens on Sunday which is about my favourite place. I have jobs to do in the garden, onions to pickle and jams to make, so plenty to keep me busy - as always.

More autumn updates

It's been a bit of a week here really. Will has been away since last Sunday and Ivy has apparently been on some kind of sleep strike, gradually getting worse and worse every day that he has been away. We managed to make it out Monday but other than that every day my plans to do this or that have been scuppered by Ivy missing naps and not sleeping at night, and the both of us being tired and crabby. I have made it out for a walk every day, but that's about it.
We have had some lovely splashes about in the rain this week. Though I am counting down the days to the equinox it feels like Autumn is truly here now.

I was given a bottle of prosecco by my neighbours by my neighbours as another apology for yet more building work that hasn't bothered me in the slightest. I don't drink these days, but I will save it either for my birthday this week, or more likely for Christmas.
Ivy and I went out this morning to get my Sunday coffee and had a lovely walk. It was a brilliant morning and we got out early before anyone else was up, just the birds.

I couldn't resist filling my empty cup with blackberries on the way home and got my plimsolls soaked wading through the dewy grass. I met another blackberry-er coming in the opposite direction - always a tense moment - and took my leave then. Besides Ivy was going through them at such a rate that the contents of my cup was starting to go down, not up.
I picked another kilo of haws yesterday, so I will make a batch of haw jelly today and chuck the few blackberries into that.

I won't do a roundup of the spending yet as I am expecting Will back at around lunchtime and am hoping we'll get the weekly shop in today (otherwise we will be relying entirely on food from the garden until we do!) so will go over it then.

Harvest

I have said to Will this year that for my birthday instead of celebrating myself, which I've never really enjoyed, I would like to make an event of celebrating the end of Summer and welcoming in Autumn. My birthday is on the 20th, very close to the equinox, and I have always marked it as the beginning of autumn which is my favourite season.
If the weather is dry we will have a fire. My Mum is going to be visiting and we are going to go out foraging and make jams and jellies. We will harvest the last of the herbs and vegetables from the garden and have a big stew. How does everyone else celebrate the changing season?

In other news all three of the Physicians of Myddfai botanical illustrations that I submitted for the exhibition in Ponty have been accepted, which opens next friday. Hurrah!

Green

It's a very green morning here after a very black night. We had terrible storms which kept us up a lot of the night with the noise, and even a brief, but exciting powercut.
This morning I had a a blood test booked first thing, which upon arrival turned out to be canceled because the nurse's roof blew off. So I treated myself to a cheering coffee (£1.15) and trudged home in the rain.
I mentioned the dining room is a green room to me. I think that is because it is north facing so quite gloomy, and looks out onto oak trees (our house is called Oaktree House). Will and I said a while ago that we both were feeling that the outside needed to come in more in this house than in other places we have lived, as where we are now is so fresh and rural, which by contrast made indoors seem quite sterile and stuffy. That, and I love green. So here are some of the green things in my green room:
Big green plant

Little green plants (and a green cow and green bureau)

Green paintings

Green places

And a very green view (framed by green curtains)

Plus lots of little green bits and bobs on my drive after the storm

Haw jelly & lemon balm syrup

The haw jelly is lovely. The haws have quite a rhubarby taste, that's also slightly wood-smokey? They were much fruitier than I had expected and I would personally use this jelly like a jam rather than with savoury meals.
The recipe I used is from here, it worked very well & set perfectly and is a lovely rosey pink colour.
I also made lemon balm syrup yesterday which is very nice in hot & cold drinks.

Gifts from the hedgerow

While we're still waiting on the apples we've been collecting our hedgerow fruits. We have a couple of kilos of blackberries in the freezer, and still plenty on the bushes that we can collect in the next week or two, and this morning I have been out collecting haws and elderberries. I only know one elder tree close to me and it only has a few droopy branches, so I would like to find more, but I have a few bunches of elderberries that I will probably use in hedgerow jam.
There are plenty of hawthorns though within a five minute walk, I could collect buckets. I have never tried haws before in any form, so before I add them into hedgerow jam I am making a tester batch of haw jelly to see if I like the flavour.
I think I remember that hawthorn has a lot of medicinal properties so I need to have a look at that.

It was a beautiful windy autumn morning and would have been lovely for a walk, but after foraging in the rain for half an hour the wriggly baby on my back had had enough.

Yesterday afternoon we went out for a quick wander before Will had to go to the station, and the blackberry bushes seems to have hundreds of fruits on. Unfortunately all I had to collect with was an empty coffee cup - but these will do for Ivy's snacks for the week since I didn't buy any soft fruit to save a few pennies!

Plus plenty o'mint

There is still a lot more in the garden, does anyone know if my mint & lemon balm will be okay over winter if I cut them right down now?

Sorting it out: week 1

Considering this was supposed to be our first week of Serious Economising, it's really been quite expensive.
We spent £26.25 on food. This included a 4kg bag of oats which will obviously last us more than the week. Will is away this week so we could have probably gotten away with less food. Any extra I will cook up and freeze if it won't last beyond the week.
The biggest expense this week has been £65 on a second hand tumble dryer, and £12 on the extension cable we need to put it in the coal shed. We live in a smaller, damper house than we did last winter, and drying a laundry load of nappies indoors every day that it's raining just isn't realistic, especially when it is often wet here for days or weeks at a time.
There has also been £69.88 on frames for the drawings I have submitted, and £44.15 on fun, which included playgroup, a coffee and Will going to the pub twice (he usually goes only once  a week.), and £8 on gifts, which was having photographs printed for thank you cards.
But we have also done a few things for free and cheap this week.
Our neighbours bought us a big bunch of roses after they had work donw on the road (which hasn't inconvenienced us at all, in fact.) I love having flowers in the house and take some from the garden each week. I have split the roses and put some in the lounge and some on the stairs.
                         
I finally bought into the chalk paint trend (about 5 years too late) and have painted by bureau. I have been considering it for ages, after we moved it into the dining room to make room for the piano. It was stained very dark, almost black, and looked horrible next to the oak dresser. I really like the green now as I've always thought of the dining room being quite a green room, so I'm really happy to keep the bureau rather than replace with something lighter.

I baked a couple of loaves of bread... self explanatory really. Will is taking one away with him this week as well as few bean burgers I made and some sandwiches. This'll save money on food while he's in London.

I fixed two of my pairs of birkenstocks. I left them out in the rain and it bollocksed the soles, but they seem to be holding up. I was thinking I would have to pick up a new pair of clogs for winter, so this is a save!

Yesterday we all went to the family centre for willow weaving. Free and a nice thing for us to do together.

I also drove us everywhere yesterday and only almost crashed once.
Will is catching a train after lunch so we are just having a quiet day today. We went for a walk this morning to get gas and electric and a coffee from the local shop. We do this every Sunday morning now and it's a nice treat for £1.15. Will has a hangover so he got a small pot of olives instead for £1.

Sorting it out: week 1

The 'garden'

In quote marks because it is only a garden in a loose sense. I am an enthusiastic but not brilliant gardener. Nonetheless here are some pictures of our very wild back garden, which despite a summer of neglect I am still proud of, and is much better than the miles of grass we had when we moved in in February.

Ivy helping Will in the shed

Apples! One of the main selling points of the house was the mature apple tree in the garden

My favourite view. The trampoline is covered because the builders next door have been having fires

Towards the house. I forgot to water the greenhouse for a week and everything in there (which isn't much) has gone a bit peaky

My one triumph, a pumpkin well on its way!

Ivy foraging for blueberries

etc

Cats sat on my onions so they're all pathetically small

And some more bits and bobs

Not exactly self sufficient just yet, but I discovered yesterday that the cucumber had gone off so the chard, onions and spinach from the garden helped out last night's stir fry.