Peace and quiet

Well we did it, we bought another car. It was cheap, funny looking, and seems to run okay, and that's about all I can find to say about that! Despite not much liking the idea of being a two car family, it will be a big help.
For a good chunk of this week we have not done too much, being stuck indoors, hiding from the storms. Luckily we haven't been affected too badly in the village but it has been devastating elsewhere  and a harsh reminder of how quickly things can change.
But today the sun actually came out for a spell and we made the most of it  spending most of the day in the garden. We have sorted apples for storing, now all I have to do is prepare a vat of apple sauce with the not - so - perfects, planted garlic and broad beans outdoors, and (almost) dug over the two final beds that need sorting after summer.
I made a massive lentil cottage pie today  plus lots more of the mix for putting into freezer bags, and the second loaf of bread of the day is ticking away in the machine.
We are still trying to make some adjustments to our shopping habits as, ideally, I would like to half our budget. We have decided to start going shopping on a Friday afternoon after will finishes work so we can get it done quickly and be quite focused. We only really shop at lidl now as it is so much cheaper and the veg is better than tesco. Anything we need that lidl doesn't stock will can pick up from tesco in his lunch break, so we don't have any temptations while having to make an extra trip. We will see, but for the past couple of weeks our shop has been quite a few pounds less, a reassuring start.
I took the girls on a trip to the botanical Gardens again on Tuesday. We are members so the only expense was the petrol (and an ice cream for ivy). Then we went to Swansea on Wednesday to visit the free botanical Gardens there, though that was much less enjoyable as I find cities very stressful these days, and although we were in the middle of a park I could still always hear the traffic noise and found it very disturbing. The whole day felt like a big reminder of why we moved and I was even more grateful than usual to be back home in our little village.
That's all for this week!

 Ivy helping out

The extent of our storm damage

Doubling up

Good morning, another soggy dark day today, I think we've definitely had our last breath of summer now.

This week we have been considering doing something that, were I asked 6 months ago, I would have sworn we'd never do. That is getting a second car. I grew up in the city and neither of my parents could drive, one still doesn't, so to me it's never been a given that one has to drive. I passed my test this year when I was about 8 months pregnant as wanted to be able to get about if we needed to. I didn't realise how much it would improve our quality of life, and am still surprised by that. While he was still on paternity leave with Hazel will was offered a new job 20 minutes away, and although he cycles when he can, going into the winter months he will be able to do so less and less, so he'll be taking the car. So here we are now wondering if we should, and if at can afford to, get another small car so that I can run the weekly errands like shopping in as well as take the girls out on trips, which now that ivy is so much older  I think its essential. She gets so much from a change of scenery,  so do I.

That one is still something we're thinking about. 

A very real piece of machinery we have acquired this weekend is my very own wood chipper! It occurred to me that over the next year, and beyond, while our garden is still getting set up  we will be spending so much money on mulch and bark chip  and yet we have heaps of branches we were about to chuck into the woods out back and just forget about. We'll hurrah, after a little persuading will found me a second hand shredder for sale and we went to pick it up, and I have already started on my paths dividing the raised beds  I am sick of trying to shear the grass and keep the buttercups from creeping into the beds. Once the paths are done any other chippings with be added to our compost heap and we will try to get some hot compost going, exactly what we need to improve our clay soil. 

And lastly I'm feeling pretty happy after putting out a plea for anyone selling manure for less than I paid last year (we need so much more with all the new beds) a friend of mine in the village said I could help myself to her very well rotted heap for nothing. We popped up to her farm yesterday and took away two car loads in exchange for cupcakes and home made tea and preserves, and will hopefully make it up again next weekend for more. Hooray! 

How do you like them apples

This weekend saw us trying to work more on putting our garden to bed for the winter, but getting a wee bit distracted. A few months ago a branch of our apple tree split and was resting on the shed roof. We had intended to wee to it in winter, but with the rain starting it became a bit more pressing as the pressure was making the shed roof start to leak. So will got out his ladder and took off the split branch. Short and short is that there were a LOT of apples to collect from that branch. So that's what I spent most of my weekend doing!

I have wrapped two crates to store in the garage and would like to do more, but beyond that I don't know what to do with so many!give away as many as possible I think as I have already made all the jams and chutneys I intend to this year.
On the plus side ivy loves her new climbing frame! We will keep them and use to support squashes next year.

Which is the only other bit of news from the weekend. We've had a couple of frosts, and although not for yet I've brought my squashes in. I'm not taking any chances having nurtured them like babies. I planted them very late in the year which is why they're not ready yet, but there is a chance that they'll ripen in a warm house. They're now in our second bedroom, Tom and Barbara style.