tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33886232975101872442024-03-06T00:19:57.522+00:00Growing Things and Making ThingsRecording one couple's attempts to live a more self-sufficient lifestyle.Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16619866897155085499noreply@blogger.comBlogger438125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3388623297510187244.post-31034087966796953762020-12-09T21:04:00.001+00:002020-12-09T21:04:54.624+00:00Living in the Land Where Clouds are Born<p>Hello!</p>
<p>Nice to see you. If you've arrived at this page, 1) it will be obvious that this blog is mostly old, and 2) you might be interested to know that I've started a new blog called Living in the Land Where Clouds are Born (it's really damp. That's not part of the blog title, but it is). I do hope you'll come and visit me there: <a href="http://rachelseabrook.net/blog-home/">New blog.</a></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAXpHiRF4kFl0cAlxbQLdGNhwjcL7YLtjAsPbRsa4txOd3oo5Y0qEd8T-VIqFSy8n4wxmqVv3aUkmUKAcjMxKX8aZ6cCJ8zaMF3iYJ_x924Ul2oRq9pU19Ps1F-i_QDa7avZ0iizIkNgM/s2048/P1030302smaller.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="400" data-original-height="1300" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAXpHiRF4kFl0cAlxbQLdGNhwjcL7YLtjAsPbRsa4txOd3oo5Y0qEd8T-VIqFSy8n4wxmqVv3aUkmUKAcjMxKX8aZ6cCJ8zaMF3iYJ_x924Ul2oRq9pU19Ps1F-i_QDa7avZ0iizIkNgM/s400/P1030302smaller.jpg"/></a></div>Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16619866897155085499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3388623297510187244.post-31368211244092766352016-09-26T22:23:00.001+01:002016-09-26T22:23:13.860+01:00That time of year again<p>Every year I get seasonal depression around the time of the equinox and every year it takes me by surprise. Every flipping year. At least I'm getting better at recognising it when it does hit, though. I also think that <a href="http://growingthingsandmakingthings.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/a-thought-on-seasonal-depression.html">preserving food does help</a>.</p>
<p>Yesterday was a bad day, in a big weepy meltdown sort of way. Today I feel better and I made sauerkraut, or at least started it.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtFwI2mEI23ZI-DNuqOltZN-Zsg7ZGzsQVku0s0Yx0ZylrTbpniDJz1i442BYDBcPRgQvuXZrPVhyphenhyphenwDuu_JkQYVwMiprEntqDU62bC1iN23XKR24k1sW2m1cWuIlvyEL4VGr5pboTKkM4/s1600/20160926_212622.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtFwI2mEI23ZI-DNuqOltZN-Zsg7ZGzsQVku0s0Yx0ZylrTbpniDJz1i442BYDBcPRgQvuXZrPVhyphenhyphenwDuu_JkQYVwMiprEntqDU62bC1iN23XKR24k1sW2m1cWuIlvyEL4VGr5pboTKkM4/s320/20160926_212622.jpg" width="320" height="240" /></a><br/>Sauerkraut. Also little cucumbers, just because I saw a packet for sale in Lidl, and people had been talking about fermenting them in an online group.</div>
<p>It would be nice if the cabbage was home-grown, but even so, this is traditional preservation of seasonal veg, and it feels like the right thing to be doing at this time of year.</p>Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16619866897155085499noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3388623297510187244.post-54580169663004087942016-09-23T23:08:00.001+01:002016-09-24T10:02:49.828+01:00Gwyl Canol Hydref Hapus<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>After the tests, an actual post, slightly delayed due to an unfortunate encounter between my laptop and some beer. <br/><br/>Happy autumn equinox! The Welsh name means mid-autumn festival and it's the middle of the three harvest festivals. In other words, we're slap-bang in the middle of harvest season. <br/><br/>There's not a lot in the garden, thanks to the slugs, but there are plenty of blackberries and mushroom season is under way. It's an excellent year for rowan berries, so I have a couple of gallons of rowan wine on the go. <br/><br/><a href='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6npzG3a_9_2Ifc4scaonUy2f9vpwXmPyMuNgz18M6msfWnDnFxZpY7xxqC8dPrwPnDe3Eyqj-201x_WmISox_uisS5QuAFVlEqfDNi70OeTaq-h5xXyi3TCDjFizQuiHXw98U2hGpXpk/s2560/%25255BUNSET%25255D.jpg' onblur='try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}'><img border='0' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6npzG3a_9_2Ifc4scaonUy2f9vpwXmPyMuNgz18M6msfWnDnFxZpY7xxqC8dPrwPnDe3Eyqj-201x_WmISox_uisS5QuAFVlEqfDNi70OeTaq-h5xXyi3TCDjFizQuiHXw98U2hGpXpk/s400/%25255BUNSET%25255D.jpg' style='display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;'/></a><br/>Rowan wine. Also rosehip syrup. <br/><br/>Earlier in the year I gathered bilberries, dried them and then, because experience has taught me that dried bilberries are liable to in mouldy, soaked them in brandy. This evening I used them as the basis for my Christmas pudding, adding fresh hogweed fruit and rosehips, sloe puree, damson leather and quince jelly from last year, and some magnolia petals that had fallen into my sister-in-law's garden in the spring, which I gathered and pickled. I include some more conventional ingredients, too, like flour and sugar. <br/><br/><a href='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd3cFffXNRiaDHXvF_V8MvHlUzfDEPpgZls62JAwP367PxuQpI_AQUjRW0sOWG3l1z8yddkEm9m5TariSrPL9Q-5bkXUxHdg5wCJiBg4OnfjyRr077TIDI_aqk2gt1qYWS2PLJ43_mOFw/s2560/%25255BUNSET%25255D.jpg' onblur='try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}'><img border='0' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd3cFffXNRiaDHXvF_V8MvHlUzfDEPpgZls62JAwP367PxuQpI_AQUjRW0sOWG3l1z8yddkEm9m5TariSrPL9Q-5bkXUxHdg5wCJiBg4OnfjyRr077TIDI_aqk2gt1qYWS2PLJ43_mOFw/s400/%25255BUNSET%25255D.jpg' style='display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;'/></a><br/>I find it very satisfying to bring together these various preserved ingredients and turn them into a treat that will keep for the middle of winter.</div>Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16619866897155085499noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3388623297510187244.post-67427998069402288272016-09-23T21:47:00.001+01:002016-09-23T21:47:48.180+01:00Final test<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>Let's see if I can get a photo saved and then uploaded. <br/>
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<a href='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUGbfWtxqGnr8M8EPHiKKCQiB15lNWkW93s-NqLO31n7gDkbdEPlK7AWPHo2kjJRuvWqHbyqaoEG24uqT4IB2YA8hg_wJCFDtq9Bb-DVp_bqMZfTfcVtcUXCJWOIZOT0f-nctFI7HpudI/s2560/%25255BUNSET%25255D.jpg' onblur='try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}'><img border='0' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUGbfWtxqGnr8M8EPHiKKCQiB15lNWkW93s-NqLO31n7gDkbdEPlK7AWPHo2kjJRuvWqHbyqaoEG24uqT4IB2YA8hg_wJCFDtq9Bb-DVp_bqMZfTfcVtcUXCJWOIZOT0f-nctFI7HpudI/s640/%25255BUNSET%25255D.jpg' style='display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;'/></a><br/>
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<a href='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPpXq3n-nSmchtgRYmq8gwsy0TWql0haEg1ZwKEIWWjOPdHAikHeCkRuFe8Q8vQUXg28WGGWCi2xccLbvexa2U85dlRVOMQU8MuckTHkP_Mp_PO46gTW3Ml5LmqCMHq5BZUFlfTuPY0nU/s2560/%25255BUNSET%25255D.jpg' onblur='try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}'><img border='0' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPpXq3n-nSmchtgRYmq8gwsy0TWql0haEg1ZwKEIWWjOPdHAikHeCkRuFe8Q8vQUXg28WGGWCi2xccLbvexa2U85dlRVOMQU8MuckTHkP_Mp_PO46gTW3Ml5LmqCMHq5BZUFlfTuPY0nU/s640/%25255BUNSET%25255D.jpg' style='display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;'/></a><br/>
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A couple of pics from a recent walk.</div>Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16619866897155085499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3388623297510187244.post-87898847148637007442016-09-23T21:25:00.001+01:002016-09-23T21:25:17.923+01:00And a photo...<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>Was it the photos that caused the problems before?<br/>
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<a href='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifCGDBxQDSVsrDga2w7IigmBOzpz7HoZ2fLHeyXHc-Hi0sy234nRR22EOxp9A6JimvYYLOWn0KPfCI8QpFRkeR5631zNp_QD1vTSuzsrBb0LebQlHBSzGAkiDFIxDLr_UL8jhRikANLUQ/s2560/%25255BUNSET%25255D.jpg' onblur='try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}'><img border='0' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifCGDBxQDSVsrDga2w7IigmBOzpz7HoZ2fLHeyXHc-Hi0sy234nRR22EOxp9A6JimvYYLOWn0KPfCI8QpFRkeR5631zNp_QD1vTSuzsrBb0LebQlHBSzGAkiDFIxDLr_UL8jhRikANLUQ/s640/%25255BUNSET%25255D.jpg' style='display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;'/></a><br/>
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George in a tree.</div>Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16619866897155085499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3388623297510187244.post-17113618960233971032016-09-23T21:19:00.001+01:002016-09-23T21:19:56.036+01:00Another test<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>Sorry for the rubbish. I have new phone and my computer's died. This one I'm going to save first</div>Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16619866897155085499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3388623297510187244.post-47197667298194697442016-09-23T20:59:00.001+01:002016-09-23T20:59:23.973+01:00Test post<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>The previous test went to the wrong blog. Now can I post one here?</div>Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16619866897155085499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3388623297510187244.post-88126949060926755622016-09-16T18:00:00.001+01:002016-09-16T18:00:43.321+01:00Carding willowherb fluff<p>Look what I've got!</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIPWm8ty5Xx4qM0VwIf1neNddilHHje0BFBuwddx0wMG2IiIcsmHPQ5QuoqWF7B5NleT3DriwqlEOGKIKlPqYgx6vgjklqF66evROzVRNnTjXsBC3Z5a73KxbFX5uHMt9XfjBzu0-kg8c/s1600/20160909_105014.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIPWm8ty5Xx4qM0VwIf1neNddilHHje0BFBuwddx0wMG2IiIcsmHPQ5QuoqWF7B5NleT3DriwqlEOGKIKlPqYgx6vgjklqF66evROzVRNnTjXsBC3Z5a73KxbFX5uHMt9XfjBzu0-kg8c/s1600/20160909_105014.jpg" /></a><br/>This was supposed to be a just-opened-the-box photo, but I couldn't resist playing with them first.</div>
<p>These are mini carders, hence the <a href="https://www.pmwoolcraft.co.uk/html/browse.php?CatID=9&start=6">relatively cheap price</a> of £12.95 + £2.75 delivery. I'm not sure exactly what pitch the pins are, but they're described as, <q>fine</q>.</p>
<p>The last time I attempted carding I was about six and visiting a friend's grandmother. I can't remember much about it. Luckily I don't have to as the internet is full of helpful advice. I found a <a href="https://barberblacksheep.wordpress.com/tag/hand-carders/">blog post</a> with nice clear pictures and, specifically for cotton, a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9TB_fuozhs">video</a> that gave me a good feel for the technique.</p>
<p>My first few attempts didn't go terribly well. I didn't know whether this was because I had the wrong tools, or it's not possible to work this fibre or, more likely, because I lacked the skill. I persevered and it got a bit better. After a while I got the hang of spreading the fibre out over the surface of the pins without pushing it too far down between them. With a bit more work I managed the next stages of the process, too. Here's how it went after a few goes:</p>
<p>First, put some fluff on one of the carders, pressing lightly so it stays put.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHaNV-PtnyClfZKBRPOeIdiQtQAcPfEEbIGJo4V-etAnJ0CTuZnUCAmTddpeiXM0h9dGA5IXgnEl01Z7d-K834xEQyAAAoSYfuMMyb569SvT81lLpqSBxMhJOIAI3Vi045990SsCogTlw/s1600/20160909_111030.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHaNV-PtnyClfZKBRPOeIdiQtQAcPfEEbIGJo4V-etAnJ0CTuZnUCAmTddpeiXM0h9dGA5IXgnEl01Z7d-K834xEQyAAAoSYfuMMyb569SvT81lLpqSBxMhJOIAI3Vi045990SsCogTlw/s1600/20160909_111030.jpg" /></a></div>
<p>See the links above for how to do the actual carding. It ended up looking like this:</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZV5jnv1puuxiqvnhEGE_4R98Mhtv1MC_9byiAS5zLBFV_ZMgQrR6UqQsk53Yh3-dkPKLaaFZEpGfD_kd8Ds2TVsTarR0c7RDNMdUb9EBlLUnlJlEwnzst3-M0bfHaVNyiivOL0dqZ0uc/s1600/20160909_111154.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZV5jnv1puuxiqvnhEGE_4R98Mhtv1MC_9byiAS5zLBFV_ZMgQrR6UqQsk53Yh3-dkPKLaaFZEpGfD_kd8Ds2TVsTarR0c7RDNMdUb9EBlLUnlJlEwnzst3-M0bfHaVNyiivOL0dqZ0uc/s1600/20160909_111154.jpg" /></a></div>
<p>I then used this fine metal comb...</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK-AOWBTW3wMxkrhwduvMVwGNdaYf7iy5ifeE4ibmOV4t_eHym0uFOe5rdlRu3pcGLA3Pq8AGuD1FgJK1ilvqjuy1vBmkbWUU89Xo2ZTABi6TEPdu3GDZDAiM_W3jTs8hTkzXUyvoe2JU/s1600/20160909_111250.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK-AOWBTW3wMxkrhwduvMVwGNdaYf7iy5ifeE4ibmOV4t_eHym0uFOe5rdlRu3pcGLA3Pq8AGuD1FgJK1ilvqjuy1vBmkbWUU89Xo2ZTABi6TEPdu3GDZDAiM_W3jTs8hTkzXUyvoe2JU/s1600/20160909_111250.jpg" /></a></div>
<p>... and my fingers...</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2Yi9Dt8W8-FAFfHOVM3iuHTYsuTz39ppybXYrKXKEqAwNqi8_d2w5N7D7ltHRWtn2EBh6C4_x-fVC4LNAxF90kZFOA51wO3wZQ9zcX6NRzzbElWx2gN-bxCmcUb3jbyT_XgkmrxZqWmk/s1600/20160909_111451.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2Yi9Dt8W8-FAFfHOVM3iuHTYsuTz39ppybXYrKXKEqAwNqi8_d2w5N7D7ltHRWtn2EBh6C4_x-fVC4LNAxF90kZFOA51wO3wZQ9zcX6NRzzbElWx2gN-bxCmcUb3jbyT_XgkmrxZqWmk/s1600/20160909_111451.jpg" /></a></div>
<p>... to roll the fluff up loosely.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj0_Ftb4XE2fEtsSVqYi0mi2RLGdc224_5nlMva3QrS2fygLebUXsorMR3LBlgw3AHI5kDM2tTQeXBTDOIroyKDCQ4P4rbcOQYQvNnLbDT3YXlA6X4Eu9Qige8lkb3TfhZ1sJTiaccZc0/s1600/20160909_111548.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj0_Ftb4XE2fEtsSVqYi0mi2RLGdc224_5nlMva3QrS2fygLebUXsorMR3LBlgw3AHI5kDM2tTQeXBTDOIroyKDCQ4P4rbcOQYQvNnLbDT3YXlA6X4Eu9Qige8lkb3TfhZ1sJTiaccZc0/s1600/20160909_111548.jpg" /></a></div>
<p>I rolled this over the surface of the pins, which made the roll much more compact. I guess this is the same process as needle felting.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv8OsSFTh1tI6HdSAAkEWyf5tYAh255SiDPkY-S2w-1GQaMBmlnVLKjQUapnQZghyphenhyphenUdICeuxTOdRMhX0t_ECF67_wjv3Q_YT3tbY6EayAPFCbKKaQBPp3trpm30dlZo75RXiBIXtXs9tQ/s1600/20160909_111628.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv8OsSFTh1tI6HdSAAkEWyf5tYAh255SiDPkY-S2w-1GQaMBmlnVLKjQUapnQZghyphenhyphenUdICeuxTOdRMhX0t_ECF67_wjv3Q_YT3tbY6EayAPFCbKKaQBPp3trpm30dlZo75RXiBIXtXs9tQ/s1600/20160909_111628.jpg" /></a></div>
<p>I now have six little rollags, or punis, as they seem to be called if they're cotton.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglrjsyUV0WByXUoE9dv6tA5N6936c04C2ueJBMd8uAwmREYQvUe0UKLbKOk_Ws9PPPocZM5c4FHFYOgTo2tS-sQ0puttEeWhXJOd2Shg76IX4eCtWzTTPcuZNjVn2F_DJpq3lovH9zOto/s1600/20160909_112404.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglrjsyUV0WByXUoE9dv6tA5N6936c04C2ueJBMd8uAwmREYQvUe0UKLbKOk_Ws9PPPocZM5c4FHFYOgTo2tS-sQ0puttEeWhXJOd2Shg76IX4eCtWzTTPcuZNjVn2F_DJpq3lovH9zOto/s1600/20160909_112404.jpg" /></a></div>
<p>the next step, of course, is to try spinning them. I've never spun rollags before and I can see myself pulling several of these apart before I get them hang of it. Maybe I need to make a few more before I move on to spinning.</p>Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16619866897155085499noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3388623297510187244.post-61175836927605374452016-09-04T10:59:00.001+01:002016-09-04T12:40:59.942+01:00Playing with plant fibre<p dir="ltr">I enjoy spinning and live in an area full of sheep. I could easily get hold of a fleece, so what's stopping me? Well, fleeces don't come off the sheep ready to spin, they need washing and carding first. I don't have the tools for carding, which is a fairly major obstacle, but the washing puts me off almost as much. </p>
<p>Wet wool is heavy and hard work to handle, and there's a big risk of felting while washing. Then I'd have to dry it afterwards, which in this climate is a serious challenge. All in all, I'm not greatly enthused about the prospect of preparing fleece for spinning.</p>
<p>On the other hand, there are fibres around that look a lot more attractive.</p>
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<p>Rosebay willowherb has spectacular flowers and spreads its seeds on the wind with little downy parachutes. As the seed pods open in the sun, bundles of fluff are released.</p>
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<p>It's this fluff that attracts me. It's so beautiful! By way of experiment, I gathered a few pods full of fluff. It was so soft that I couldn't even feel it on my hands.</p>
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<p>It wasn't too difficult to pick the pieces of pod out of the fibre, apart from the gravity-defying property of the little parachutes. I'd be trying to put fluff down in a pile, and little bits of it would detach themselves and float up past my face.</p>
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<p>After a while, though, I managed to get a bundle of fluff without bits of seed pod stuck in it, though I didn't manage to remove all the seeds.</p>
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<p>Ideally, at this point, I'd card the fluff, which would not only line up all the fibres in the same direction, but hopefully also comb out the remaining seeds. As I said above, I don't have carders, but I found that by pulling the bundle apart with my fingers, the fibres aligned themselves quite nicely.</p>
<p>The big question, of course, is whether it would be possible to spin this fibre? One critical factor is staple length, i.e. the length of individual fibres. I tried to look up the typical staple length of wool, for comparison, but it turns out that this question is rather like, <q>How long is a piece of string?</q> Anyway, it's upwards of two inches (50 mm).</p>
<p>A more sensible comparison, perhaps, is cotton, as that also comes from seed heads. There is considerable variation here, too, but it seems to range from about half an inch to about one and a half inches (13-38 mm). I measured a little clump of fibres, and it was about half an inch long. That's right at the bottom end of the range for cotton, which is considered poor quality, but perhaps it's just about long enough to be feasible.</p>
<p>Having concluded that theoretically, it should be possible (just) to spin this, I decided to try a bit. Not with the wheel, as I'd need a larger quantity for that. I just teased out a bit and twisted it with my fingers to see whether I could persuade it to form a thread.</p>
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<p>Yes. Yes, I could get a thread, of sorts. It's not at all strong, but then it is very fine. I don't think I'd be aiming for such a fine thread, so with more fibres running together, hopefully it would be a bit stronger. It would probably be better if I had the right tools, too.</p>
<p>This brings me back to the question of carders, which is a bit of a sticking point as they're expensive. Like, fifty quid expensive. That feels like a lot of money for something that might not work. Furthermore, not all carders are alike. The ones for cotton are much finer (more teeth per inch) than the ones for wool. If my daft idea of spinning willowherb fibre didn't work out, I'd have an expensive set of carders and no use for them. I'm not sure what to do now: Do I risk the money on something that may turn out to be useless?</p>
Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16619866897155085499noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3388623297510187244.post-60290557150760000482016-08-14T22:35:00.000+01:002016-08-14T22:46:23.312+01:00Capel Bangor Show<p>I wrote half a post about this a couple of years ago and never posted it. The show is now an important fixture in our calendar and we went to this year's show last Saturday. This post covers a mixture of two years ago and last Saturday.</p>
<p>Agricultural and horticultural shows are a major feature of life here. It's possible to spend every weekend of the summer relaxing in a different field, watching horses, cattle, pigs, sheep, and other animals paraded around a ring for your entertainment. Any idiot who organises an event in the same week as the Royal Welsh has only themselves to blame when no-one turns up (yes, we've done that). Our local show is in <a href="http://www.capelbangorshow.co.uk/">Capel Bangor</a>, a village about ten miles away, and we've attended for the last three years.</p>
<p>Whilst there are sheep...</p>
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<p>... and the shearing competition is well worth watching...</p>
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<p>... the show mainly features horses.</p>
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<p> Unfortunately, I'm not terribly interested in horses. </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7CGe189WdnIHT7ASA46jeYJcpmBj9dz5ysJlnrRNJrjtMv135K3NlqTIkxMV3nOiTToDPJ1hHgPlMwMpO2Fsqy0NtV3xtCIGpEgh81g7iReDlzlMGBHRrWUrzYizc1dqH_IyYnsijz_A/s1600/Pauline+caravan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7CGe189WdnIHT7ASA46jeYJcpmBj9dz5ysJlnrRNJrjtMv135K3NlqTIkxMV3nOiTToDPJ1hHgPlMwMpO2Fsqy0NtV3xtCIGpEgh81g7iReDlzlMGBHRrWUrzYizc1dqH_IyYnsijz_A/s640/Pauline+caravan.jpg"></a><br/>Not horses, 2014</div>
<p>The lady to the left of the caravan talked to me at great length about peanut butter cookies (her recipe is very rich), ballet (her teacher cried when she gave it up to do A levels), drinking champagne at the Playboy club, and flummery, amongst other things.</p>
<p>I arranged for our friend Keith to drive a tractor for the first time. It went like this: We were chatting to Brython when his son Sion, who's in charge of the vintage and classic vehicles section, came over and spoke to him in Welsh. After Sean had gone Brython said, a little grumpily, <q>I suppose I'm going to have to drive a tractor, then. Last time I did, I got covered in oil.</q> (He was quite smartly dressed at the time.) Then, to me, <q>Would you like to drive a tractor?</q> Me: <q>No, but Keith would.</q> (He'd told me so earlier in the day.) I went off to find Keith, and told him there was an opportunity to drive a tractor if he wanted it, and he did. </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiU8vAJXp6ATatqJPGfWhIU98PsX-KDcaznXoiOp6Ubs32a2RzuhKmIvo0JXmLLEE23mIFEyuZ4vElipzoUYh0W98HvCEwSZbwM_6r-On5qrNZeOrVGMf-H5w8hDr_AF4TdEirlqXRZ3g/s1600/Keith+driving+tractor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiU8vAJXp6ATatqJPGfWhIU98PsX-KDcaznXoiOp6Ubs32a2RzuhKmIvo0JXmLLEE23mIFEyuZ4vElipzoUYh0W98HvCEwSZbwM_6r-On5qrNZeOrVGMf-H5w8hDr_AF4TdEirlqXRZ3g/s640/Keith+driving+tractor.jpg"></a><br/>Keith driving Brython's tractor in the parade. <br/>Ian is driving the 2CV in the background.</div>
<p>Sadly, the 2CV is off the road at the moment. Well, it's not really sad because she'll be in much better shape when she comes home, but we had hoped she might be back by now. Ian still takes part in the old vehicle display, in whatever vehicle he has at the time.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKO-oXV4MfSQJpddjqDwS7XFuaIwaXhllCxVxl1mUjo4L1nLNj-fbAstIiSfdyg1frsiamghWbVs35CJnMZ3tA3w_5C5ULGpnrQS6LBpTUOakbOB5oRaOa3fDENmiGKyfG5PcxsLdeeZw/s1600/cars.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKO-oXV4MfSQJpddjqDwS7XFuaIwaXhllCxVxl1mUjo4L1nLNj-fbAstIiSfdyg1frsiamghWbVs35CJnMZ3tA3w_5C5ULGpnrQS6LBpTUOakbOB5oRaOa3fDENmiGKyfG5PcxsLdeeZw/s1600/cars.jpg" /></a><br/>Ian's Mitsubishi Colt, bought just a few days before the show. I blame <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zmfo-eL9VKc">Tim Minchin</a>.</div>
<p>Did I mention tractors?</p>
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<p>There was a competition to guess the weight of this one...</p>
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<p>... and there was even a little one for children to sit on:</p>
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<p>There were other stalls as well. Our friend Mavis had a cake stall.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSYXmO-Slbju4cA8qb8kp7hxY_jnhvHPBvI-0kyTpDbPz9tUSvoSRq_JcDX6qMxZsQ1VQl-LdHmc7M5l3iRIXc8XUQmoueY88M44k-1jcUU07cWB67X4u_ANQU5_iwrGtSA2PdEuRUHyc/s1600/Mavis+cakes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSYXmO-Slbju4cA8qb8kp7hxY_jnhvHPBvI-0kyTpDbPz9tUSvoSRq_JcDX6qMxZsQ1VQl-LdHmc7M5l3iRIXc8XUQmoueY88M44k-1jcUU07cWB67X4u_ANQU5_iwrGtSA2PdEuRUHyc/s1600/Mavis+cakes.jpg" /></a><br/>Most excellent cakes at Make or Bake</div>
<p>While Ian gets involved with the old cars, I'm more interested in the produce tent.</p>
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<p>In here may be found competitions for all kinds of garden produce, baking, crafts, photography (Most of which had separate classes for children) and - my favourite section - home brew (no children's class).</p>
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<p>At the far end is a class for <q>Vase of herbs,</q> which I entered, but I think I misjudged the criteria. I went for aesthetic appeal, but the others seemed to be more about usefulness of herbs. I suppose I should have worked that out from the fact that it was in the produce section. Also, I may have been marked down for including weeds in my vase. How can you say rosebay willowherb isn't a herb? It's in the name!</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAhPl9yjTcs07yHHjiRPFU3Ts-_6xZvfy-EMUzA7Y-RvRyxmmn8pj9f1eox6mz_UuMZR9zF5Bp19ImHaJaaIJyYRSHCACcrD320tzbz1vmoL068ribKx5qtzEe4slzS2WHCvaXXWdfRIk/s1600/pickle+entries.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAhPl9yjTcs07yHHjiRPFU3Ts-_6xZvfy-EMUzA7Y-RvRyxmmn8pj9f1eox6mz_UuMZR9zF5Bp19ImHaJaaIJyYRSHCACcrD320tzbz1vmoL068ribKx5qtzEe4slzS2WHCvaXXWdfRIk/s1600/pickle+entries.jpg" /></a></div>
<p>I had a suspicion that the pickles and preserves were judged more on appearance than flavour, and filled a narrow jar of pickled samphire very carefully (it's the one with the luggage label, which rather hides how nicely all the samphire is lined up), but to no avail. My friend Jane explained to me that jars should show no signs of having been used before, should have white lids, and white labels should be on the lower half of the jar, but this <em>isn't written down.</em> My samphire came nowhere.</p>
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<p>My two entries in the wine classes (rhubarb in the dry white; sloe in the sweet red) both won, in spite of poor presentation (I didn't even clean the old labels off the bottles). This led to me being awarded the cup for wines, which was nice. Honesty forces me to confess that the reason was that the entries for wine looked like this:</p>
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<p>Two years ago, the first time I nervously entered a single bottle of wine (nicely presented in a clean bottle), I arrived to find an older couple unloading a crateful of homebrew: Three entries in each category. I felt a bit intimidated by this, and was over the moon when my oak leaf wine came first in its class. I haven't seen them since.</p>
<p>I was more pleased that my bog myrtle ale came second, as there was more competition in the beer classes:</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqlSxRPAmGug1qFliSkHrSv8zaE9e32PACHzL6A-FdEdixizR1e4D6VfUY6Nok4ZiT6KGh3Mo7zaRvUbT3RJvuhpG_1VQ_QRKMYLmOp_DmXGOrmT63Iv5mFc-HONN-p4PXfdRPJvYckYY/s1600/beer+entries.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqlSxRPAmGug1qFliSkHrSv8zaE9e32PACHzL6A-FdEdixizR1e4D6VfUY6Nok4ZiT6KGh3Mo7zaRvUbT3RJvuhpG_1VQ_QRKMYLmOp_DmXGOrmT63Iv5mFc-HONN-p4PXfdRPJvYckYY/s1600/beer+entries.jpg" /></a></div>
<p>I also entered an <q>interesting</q> fir cone ale, which came nowhere, but the judges drank an awful lot of it in coming to that decision.</p>
<p>It's a lovely day, and very relaxing because there's almost nothing to do apart from mooch around and chat to people. Relaxing, that is, apart from the excitement of the produce competitions!</p>Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16619866897155085499noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3388623297510187244.post-7948662758588493422016-08-04T18:01:00.001+01:002016-08-04T18:01:56.681+01:00A good year for samphire<p>It's interesting looking back to see that I wasn't that taken with pickled samphire <a href="http://growingthingsandmakingthings.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/foraged-food-friday-marsh-samphire.html">the first time I tried it</a>. That was before I discovered this combination:</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8_J_fbKZOkJMM4i80akdRWXFXoH7RnUJbwimp9iSrtJZaABtSz69mfEBfJ9x3ric88aYrh0v6rnBQbkKNs2qR3C0-LustorPts2PIOtNZ_Ycumfm2Dr0yFbLHM5hCZuorlLDI5owPIxQ/s1600/20160804_164835.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8_J_fbKZOkJMM4i80akdRWXFXoH7RnUJbwimp9iSrtJZaABtSz69mfEBfJ9x3ric88aYrh0v6rnBQbkKNs2qR3C0-LustorPts2PIOtNZ_Ycumfm2Dr0yFbLHM5hCZuorlLDI5owPIxQ/s640/20160804_164835.jpg"> </a><br/>A biscuit* topped with mascarpone cheese and pickled samphire</div>
<p>This is divine! With samphire thus elevated to the status of a delicacy, I consider it well worth the effort of gathering it.</p>
<p>There's also vinegar to consider. Last year I attempted to make vinegar. There's a brief note of the result hidden away in <a href="http://growingthingsandmakingthings.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/a-few-updates.html">this post</a>. Having looked at the relative prices of decent vinegar and <q>pickling vinegar</q> I bought the cheap stuff. It was pretty dreadful but even with that, pickled samphire was good. This year I have <a href="http://growingthingsandmakingthings.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/kombucha-getting-started.html">kombucha</a>, which will make vinegar from sugar if left alone for long enough. I fed it some of the too-sweet oak leaf wine and now I have some pretty awesome (and very strong) vinegar.</p>
<p>Last Saturday I was in town around lunch time, so checked the tide times and as luck would have it, low tide was about 1pm, so I went up to the estuary (town is kind-of on the way) to check out the samphire.</p>
<p>I could see it - at least I thought I could, as soon as I parked the car.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjbr3z0gAGOLgAY98_i9ZceQMJdg5NimRCEeCbYIuKReRK91FtaAIdJYwTgBh_JkWXEcudBPRBTTqhBkM0oaXq0uVQboTGIaTiyRlZxjdiqD0B7dlA4pDyZdrP3Aabe7LmbuAP-hd31II/s1600/samphire+distant.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjbr3z0gAGOLgAY98_i9ZceQMJdg5NimRCEeCbYIuKReRK91FtaAIdJYwTgBh_JkWXEcudBPRBTTqhBkM0oaXq0uVQboTGIaTiyRlZxjdiqD0B7dlA4pDyZdrP3Aabe7LmbuAP-hd31II/s400/samphire+distant.jpg" width="400" height="286" /></a><br/>That bright green strip across the sand was - I was fairly sure - marsh samphire</div>
<p>Closer inspection confirmed this.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7xYXnWrAyiIjQDGDu_TvVVMG2AtOhib5yoDFnetiCbtsax5S8Ci4gYUtmsonUnIeIPXNtgjd6GIKFajxNd7r9IQp8Z8lRfxlrf-CApgrWOlwJiBrmnNTV7x6K-GZ9mSTBpnsz8KYIops/s1600/samphire+close.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7xYXnWrAyiIjQDGDu_TvVVMG2AtOhib5yoDFnetiCbtsax5S8Ci4gYUtmsonUnIeIPXNtgjd6GIKFajxNd7r9IQp8Z8lRfxlrf-CApgrWOlwJiBrmnNTV7x6K-GZ9mSTBpnsz8KYIops/s400/samphire+close.jpg" width="400" height="228" /></a><br/>Yep, definitely samphire.</div>
<p>I haven't seen such big plants before - these are fantastic. I think maybe I've been later in the season in previous years, after sheep have been allowed to graze here. I spent an hour and a half foraging, and collected rather more than I usually do in in two or more hours. After that, I walked down to the beach.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRTUkxSjb_Qtaap-UWbCZGKJfq-XBLLQOPRV9Ps1j35Y4BccNksPShA671n5LbcATI_l3m5TswBB_Gg1KXtj_i5JR-WaKAfHCNa6VBQbcsZjAjFLe2b3RKoJNvakHatvel2GxQBXCh1a8/s1600/Ynyslas1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRTUkxSjb_Qtaap-UWbCZGKJfq-XBLLQOPRV9Ps1j35Y4BccNksPShA671n5LbcATI_l3m5TswBB_Gg1KXtj_i5JR-WaKAfHCNa6VBQbcsZjAjFLe2b3RKoJNvakHatvel2GxQBXCh1a8/s400/Ynyslas1.jpg" width="500" height="329" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTwNK9umLIoL6BAuqg_3JmFk0Z6F1mTCq6xJ0pU4RYcM1tCmGsYXwYuillgN47IbzOKAD3ZNBQfKrUFQVUQalcqBbP3pjAg2e_OgF0NOr9aUsPVeQVnVdJ97fE-H7MOJeiRjyhgtm_sZY/s1600/Ynyslas2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTwNK9umLIoL6BAuqg_3JmFk0Z6F1mTCq6xJ0pU4RYcM1tCmGsYXwYuillgN47IbzOKAD3ZNBQfKrUFQVUQalcqBbP3pjAg2e_OgF0NOr9aUsPVeQVnVdJ97fE-H7MOJeiRjyhgtm_sZY/s400/Ynyslas2.jpg" width="500" height="375" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz2wiYdgD3tMfIHRWH2oVObz4svHdkJJR0Sh2VH3t9Ok3rQ5FeiYNy24QRaEHxPA_3dzEuDvA300wmlx79d-8qHN3tCJYocEITrg1khPxL1QxjKxBBvBtobiLzzfp1bEnsY9pe7VbAz48/s1600/Ynyslas3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz2wiYdgD3tMfIHRWH2oVObz4svHdkJJR0Sh2VH3t9Ok3rQ5FeiYNy24QRaEHxPA_3dzEuDvA300wmlx79d-8qHN3tCJYocEITrg1khPxL1QxjKxBBvBtobiLzzfp1bEnsY9pe7VbAz48/s400/Ynyslas3.jpg" width="500" height="357" /></a></div>
<p>That's really not a bad way to spend a Saturday afternoon.</p>
<p>Of course, once I got all that samphire home, I had to process it. That means carefully picking it over, rinsing off the sand and any seaweed and small shellfish that I'd missed when picking, and pinching off only the tenderest pieces for pickling, leaving the parts that have a woody core. It took ages, but it's worth it.</p>
<p>A few notes on pickling: For a crisper result, I now know to use cold vinegar. The tannin from the oak leaves should also help with crispness. However, I did heat the vinegar first to kill it. I want an inert pickle, not one that's going to eat its way through the samphire. I also mixed the vinegar with some beer that had been flavoured with rosebay willowherb tips. The vinegar was so strong that it could do with diluting a bit, and this beer adds a complementary flavour. During the heating phase, I infused some garlic mustard seeds, too. Then while I was making a cup of tea and looking at a pan of hot pickling liquid, I poured milk into the pan. Don't do that.</p>
<p>The best thing to do at that point was, I decided, to leave the kitchen and drink my tea. By the time I came back, the milk had separated somewhat, so I strained out the curds, left it to settle, carefully poured off the clearer liquid... repeated. There's a slight cloudiness in the bottom of my jar of samphire, and no doubt there's some whey in the pickling liquid. In that much vinegar I doubt it'll have any impact, but I repeat, I don't recommend doing that. Even so, pickled samphire is still worth it.</p>
<p>---</p>
<p>*It's a digestive biscuit, just for Cat ;-)Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16619866897155085499noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3388623297510187244.post-24636650377242637472016-08-01T16:38:00.000+01:002016-08-01T16:38:29.747+01:00Gŵyl Awst Hapus / Happy Lammas<p>Lammas, also known as Lughnasadh or in Welsh, Gŵyl Awst*, is a festival that hasn't been adopted into our modern calendar, though we do have the August bank holiday at the end of the month. It's the first of three harvest festivals, traditionally the wheat harvest.</p>
<p>I don't have wheat or any other grain, but I do have that modern import from the new world, potatoes, and I started harvesting them a few days ago. They're a bit small, really, but I have maincrop potatoes for growing big. I will eat these as they are, and all the better for it.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgubd8Jr6_XiSats59ZIFDymrml6JCfA9M6rBijNWw_R6jLD9eiJtEitu1d_b6xTADss_uWRM8ZT15TBZBeT0MPrBPlQ_DgeQFAOM6rS0prHqsJuF-4MZpjhvQDrEV21S5MyCl7THR5tMM/s1600/Spuds+-+new+harvest.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgubd8Jr6_XiSats59ZIFDymrml6JCfA9M6rBijNWw_R6jLD9eiJtEitu1d_b6xTADss_uWRM8ZT15TBZBeT0MPrBPlQ_DgeQFAOM6rS0prHqsJuF-4MZpjhvQDrEV21S5MyCl7THR5tMM/s1600/Spuds+-+new+harvest.jpg" /></a><br/>Today's harvest</div>
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---<br/>
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* Literally, August festivalRachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16619866897155085499noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3388623297510187244.post-41206911373998561802016-07-29T12:59:00.000+01:002016-07-29T12:59:33.838+01:00Uncovering the sewing machine<p>A few weeks back, over on <a href="http://ecocatlady.blogspot.co.uk/2016/07/independence-day.html">Eco Cat Lady's blog</a>, we were chatting about how quite a few of us feel we <q>ought</q> to enjoy sewing, but don't. My sewing machine is in the spare room and has been getting buried deeper and deeper over the months, so as well as emotional obstacles to sewing (I'm not as good at it as I want to be), there've been physical obstacles in the way, too.</p>
<p>Then last week I picked some blackcurrants - bear with me, this is related. I stewed them and strained them and decided to make jelly from the juice, and wanted something to put lemon pips in (for extra pectin) so I wouldn't have to pick them all out at the end. I've been thinking for a while that it would be good to have a drawstring muslin bag for this purpose, like a large re-usable tea bag. If I had the right bit of fabric, this should be a very small sewing job.</p>
<p>I decided to give it a go. It felt like a lot of tidying up for a bit of sewing so small I could do it by hand fairly easily, but better to do the big tidy with this job than have it get in the way of a bigger project. The combined Big Tidy and Big Sewing Project could well prove too daunting to tackle at all.</p>
<p>Step one was looking for fabric. That brought quick success, and a sense of smugness at being proved right over the de-clutterers. Whether it's worth keeping a cupboard full of fabric for thirty years for the sake of having exactly that piece to hand when I wanted it... well, I suppose that's debatable, but I like having stuff available.</p>
<p>Then I had to tackle all the junk in the middle of the room. No, I'm not showing you a photo of how bad it was. I would then have had to face just how bad it was. I moved things around. I can't say the result is exactly <q>tidy</q> but the stuff is no longer all over the sewing table.</p>
<p>I was rather pleased that I could remember how to thread the machine and adjust the settings and tension in the right direction to stop the thread looping up at the back. In fact, when I watched a nice, even line of stitching emerge from under the machine foot, I was thrilled. I guess my anxiety about sewing incompetence had been building up. I may never be as skilled as my mum was, but you know, I can kind of do this.</p>
<p>And so I have a little drawstring bag, useful for suspending lemon pips in boiling jam, and spices in chutney, and I'll probably find some other uses for it. More to the point, the sewing machine is now accessible, both physically and psychologically.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcbM3RYI6PgzRDtatkt1KtA84WPuHX0WnZtE4Sha_qevosZ4qQqXBBmns1Ls5XLboDh6n418dsXLropuvA3vY8bZZ_kJdpwMZxqg7WQ6u8dnIPRujZzHuu7ejHX12o5j21Hfbbb62Vllc/s1600/%255BUNSET%255D" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcbM3RYI6PgzRDtatkt1KtA84WPuHX0WnZtE4Sha_qevosZ4qQqXBBmns1Ls5XLboDh6n418dsXLropuvA3vY8bZZ_kJdpwMZxqg7WQ6u8dnIPRujZzHuu7ejHX12o5j21Hfbbb62Vllc/s400/%255BUNSET%255D" width="400" height="300" /></a><br/>One drawstring bag, for culinary purposes.</div>Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16619866897155085499noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3388623297510187244.post-53490485708936952572016-06-04T21:59:00.000+01:002016-06-04T21:59:20.405+01:00Better late than never<p>The title is supposed to refer to gardening, but it could just as well refer to the blog post itself. I've made a very slow start on gardening this year. It started with, <q>I wish I'd cleaned out the greenhouse in the autumn, when proper gardeners do it,</q> and progressed through, <q>Those brambles are getting out of hand,</q> to, <q>If the weather's going to muck around like this, what's the point?</q>
<p>Somehow, though, I did manage to get the greenhouse clean and ready to use, and started clearing beds ready for planting. In the second week in May - rather later than just about anyone else - I got potatoes in the ground...</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwZJGpWeKGKmUz-U5lN1NoOFBHQmlMqjIKHdeBxCofMA_nAVWG6ofMfUhc9co2-l9e0fgGONrnytk-E8_LPsLbNw52RzdYcH-U1ElQzTK3A-zu5Lw7qaAbLJGi2jrpH_Y4bNCMvhyAaCE/s1600/bed+of+spuds.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwZJGpWeKGKmUz-U5lN1NoOFBHQmlMqjIKHdeBxCofMA_nAVWG6ofMfUhc9co2-l9e0fgGONrnytk-E8_LPsLbNw52RzdYcH-U1ElQzTK3A-zu5Lw7qaAbLJGi2jrpH_Y4bNCMvhyAaCE/s1600/bed+of+spuds.jpg" /></a><br/>I couldn't bring myself to dig up that flowering broccoli, and the comfrey is a permanent fixture.</div>
<p>... shortly followed by peas.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ25-3FzioKNiIu-McMQtIR_F4Tvk_1OofyBmPgJ32DcKkmJtqpHk6_8YArNghkJSl21wokzcssJg_-U3NJSr8vN9JuE9acy6iKzzgiToOoi0OJfOixFcKIqBeRLNA4L2CXkw-sFruX9A/s1600/bed+of+peas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ25-3FzioKNiIu-McMQtIR_F4Tvk_1OofyBmPgJ32DcKkmJtqpHk6_8YArNghkJSl21wokzcssJg_-U3NJSr8vN9JuE9acy6iKzzgiToOoi0OJfOixFcKIqBeRLNA4L2CXkw-sFruX9A/s1600/bed+of+peas.jpg" /></a><br/>The raspberry cane in the middle of this bed was also left, obviously. The comfrey in the far corner is a recent development, but is becoming a permanent fixture.</div>
<p>Both of these are just starting to show their first leaves, which lifts the spirits greatly. My friend Maggs gave me some plants - brassicas and curcubits - which also lifted the spirits. She offered them before asking whether I had any evening primrose going spare. I probably shouldn't have confessed to composting them - they grow like weeds in my garden - but I was glad to have a bucketful to give her in exchange. Today I finished clearing the bed for <q>brassicas and other</q>, so I should be getting those in tomorrow. Maybe I will have a veg garden this year.</p>Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16619866897155085499noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3388623297510187244.post-59739367120205867352016-03-27T23:54:00.000+01:002016-03-27T23:54:42.517+01:00About time<p>This morning (or yesterday evening, for the organised), clocks across Britain were set forward one hour. This is something that has always irritated me. Why do we need to do this? If we want to make the most of light mornings, why can't we just get up earlier? Why do we need to fool ourselves into thinking that the time is an hour later than it really is?</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvGhpZG5tWsPHi3YsVqhj24MJiuNcGCPAvobirPgE9xPV2gD_u9e-wEd52nJmPE-sKRtoszPyGorjtAb88H1nSIobkPAGh3eBg3t2qCP7sc2E9ErCRlrxb52QSUizJxbvQNINemJwDP3o/s1600/indian_daylight-savings-time.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvGhpZG5tWsPHi3YsVqhj24MJiuNcGCPAvobirPgE9xPV2gD_u9e-wEd52nJmPE-sKRtoszPyGorjtAb88H1nSIobkPAGh3eBg3t2qCP7sc2E9ErCRlrxb52QSUizJxbvQNINemJwDP3o/s1600/indian_daylight-savings-time.jpg" /></a></div>
<p>Here's the thing that irritates me: British Summer Time is not <q>real</q>. The position of the hands on a clock face are a measurement, and as such, should aim to measure as accurately as possible. But what are they measuring, exactly? Well... it gets a little more complicated than you might expect when you try to answer this question. Roughly, it's the position of the sun in the sky, but not relying on actually being able to see the sun, and extended through the hours of darkness, too. It's a measure of the Earth's rotation. As such, <q>Noon</q> should mean the time when the sun reaches its highest elevation in the sky.</p>
<p>There are two things which make this an approximation. The first is the use of time zones. Here on the west coast of Wales, the sun sets fifteen minutes later than it does in London and similarly, noon - meaning the highest elevation of the sun - is fifteen minutes later as well. It used to be the case that every town operated to its own local time, but the coming of the railways made it necessary to keep the same time across the whole country. Imagine trying to devise a train timetable with a different time zone for each stop!</p>
<p>I can see the sense in having the same time across the country, so the time is accurate to within about half an hour. For that purpose we all use Greenwich time (the political choice of a location right at the east of the country is also a little irritating - somewhere in the middle would be better), but what about the <q>mean</q> part of GMT? This is <q>mean</q> in the sense of <q>average</q> and derives from the fact that noon-to-noon is not exactly 24 hours, most of the time. On some days it takes a little more and on other days a little less than 24 hours for the sun to return to its highest elevation in the sky.</p>
<p>The reason for this variation is the eliptical shape of the Earth's orbit around the Sun. I was going to give you a brief explanation there, but then I looked it up and it got complicated. If you're interested, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equation_of_time">Wikepedia</a> has a lengthy article on the subject. The upshot is that some of the time, a sundial is fast relative to a clock, and some of the time it is slow. When clocks were new, the sundial was taken to be correct and an adjustment was applied to the new-fangled clocks to calculate the correct, sundial time. Nowadays, if you are so inclined, you can apply the adjustment (in reverse) to sundial-time to get the <q>correct</q> time as per a clock.</p>
<p>This leaves me in a quandry. I share the modern instinct that the regular clock, with exactly 24 hours each day, is the more correct measure of passing time, but if the sundial, which reliably reports the position of the sun, is inaccurate, what are we measuring with the clock? The concept <q>time of day</q> has become abstracted away from the position of the sun, and that abstraction opens the door to people mucking around with it, with time zones and daylight saving. This feels wrong, as if we've somehow become separated from a fundamental aspect of the natural world. I am very tempted to set up a sundial in my garden and use only that for timekeeping. If only we had more sunlight.</p>Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16619866897155085499noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3388623297510187244.post-12696059196501767872016-03-12T17:42:00.000+00:002016-03-12T17:42:31.188+00:00Further adventures with wild yeast: Heather ale<p>After starting off my home brew in the kitchen, I move it downstairs to the store room, which is rather cooler. The lower temperature seems to have been a problem for the wine yeast I used last year, and I have a dozen demijohns full of half-fermented wine. I'm hoping it will get going again when the weather warms up, but I'd prefer yeast that doesn't need much warmth to ferment.</p>
<p>I'd been thinking of buying lager yeast, as that works at lower temperatures than most, but then I had another idea: The wild yeast that I'm using as a <a href="http://growingthingsandmakingthings.blogspot.co.uk/2016/01/yeast-farming-and-foraging.html">sourdough starter</a> seems quite happy in cool temperatures (i.e. winter kitchen temperatures) and I've heard of people getting yeast from sourdough for cider; maybe I could do the same for beer.</p>
<p>I added extra water and left the starter until it separated out, then drained off the cloudy liquid, leaving as much of the floury gloop behind as possible. I don't really want starch in my beer. I added this to my <a href="http://growingthingsandmakingthings.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/experimenting-with-fraoch.html">usual heather ale recipe</a> and left it to see what would happen. The quantity of yeast cells in that bit of liquid was probably pretty small, so I gave it longer than I usually would to check for signs of life. That is, I checked for bubbles frequently, but gave it three days before giving up.</p>
<p>Last autumn, I chucked a couple of crab apples in a jar of sugary water in the hope of cultivating wild yeast from the apple skins. The jar was still sitting on the kitchen counter, smelling... possibly alcoholic, possibly just appley - certainly not foul. I poured that in. A day later, I added some more of the sourdough starter, this time being less fussy about the starch. Eventually, I saw tiny which flecks on the surface - little bubbles? I monitored further until it became obvious that the white fleck were not bubbles, but some kind of growth. Oh, *&#%! That is not the kind of life I was hoping to see.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcQMUKflQSuYFQOVtErsOCHKLuZv8fvgrNFNoXjJtbCbe01hLklAEdU8UQ0qZPqF_m1YD1J1Xnqbh7u-pUeW6lmKapgmB_qezeYFfBOQYfSyoTYAyi_p-ZolPD0r9T5ut1AtQw6WtlR20/s1600/pellicle+on+fraoch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcQMUKflQSuYFQOVtErsOCHKLuZv8fvgrNFNoXjJtbCbe01hLklAEdU8UQ0qZPqF_m1YD1J1Xnqbh7u-pUeW6lmKapgmB_qezeYFfBOQYfSyoTYAyi_p-ZolPD0r9T5ut1AtQw6WtlR20/s1600/pellicle+on+fraoch.jpg" /></a><br/>Two day-old pellicle</div>
<p>However, before throwing it all out, I did a bit of research, and learned a new word: <a href="http://phdinbeer.com/2015/01/30/beer-microbiology-what-is-a-pellicle/">Pellicle</a>. This is a layer that forms on top of wort during the brewing of beer. It's the same kind of thing as the scoby that forms in <a href="http://growingthingsandmakingthings.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/kombucha-getting-started.html">kombucha brewing</a>, but not the same micro-organisms.</p>
<p>While the cultivated brewing yeast doesn't form a pellicle, other strains of the same species can do, so it's entirely possible that wild yeast might do so. My pellicle smelled a little musty, but not too strong or foul. I also poked a dropper through the surface to take a sample of the wort, and that tasted fine, so I left it to see what would happen. A day later, I saw bubbles under the surface.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwSXegurHlWoCdJ2heXKdCOGwM-w9YgqZG2Dk3j45tphQBDefufOHd812c4MhzffdoFHawI6pCVr6pDiQt-WSfvtueV55X_IUs7QrVYQX2kotWO8Vq4oEeg40ihXkG-Na8OEZTMVbcqMk/s1600/bubble+under+pellicle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwSXegurHlWoCdJ2heXKdCOGwM-w9YgqZG2Dk3j45tphQBDefufOHd812c4MhzffdoFHawI6pCVr6pDiQt-WSfvtueV55X_IUs7QrVYQX2kotWO8Vq4oEeg40ihXkG-Na8OEZTMVbcqMk/s1600/bubble+under+pellicle.jpg" /></a><br/>Bubbles trapped under the pellicle</div>
<p>Bubbles indicate fermentation, so there's definitely something going on, though of course, I don't know what kind of fermentation. It still smells OK, so I'm going to wait and see what develops. At worst, I'll get something that smells and tastes horrible, and I'll have to throw the whole lot away. Alternatively, it might taste of nothing, which is also not worth keeping. Another possibility is that mainly acids are forming, in which case I might have two gallons of vinegar, which is not ideal, but worth something. There's also a chance that I might end up with a delicious and unique beer. I'll just have to wait and see.</p>Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16619866897155085499noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3388623297510187244.post-10174030326691493592016-03-05T23:16:00.002+00:002016-03-05T23:16:54.016+00:00Kombucha - getting started<p>I enjoy a drink of beer or wine, but often as not, it's for the taste rather than the alcohol content. I don't really like sweet drinks with food and, apart from plain water, there aren't many savoury alternatives. My interest in fermented foods led to me hearing about fermented drinks, including kombucha, and wondering whether they might be a good alternative. The first step, then, was to try some and see what it tasted like.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFp9XGbmwdAw7MJG6eVPE2OEu9iso2AdlnyIHLEFFiThhKy_o6qYTQukz8ax6C4Zfu73s0PytlOSValRZi06tfvTbrGwbFvsDG1160LUERoYMiudZ6tiSyRKRcmcJ0_1eAUvPcyV5AJTI/s1600/booch+bottle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style=style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" width="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFp9XGbmwdAw7MJG6eVPE2OEu9iso2AdlnyIHLEFFiThhKy_o6qYTQukz8ax6C4Zfu73s0PytlOSValRZi06tfvTbrGwbFvsDG1160LUERoYMiudZ6tiSyRKRcmcJ0_1eAUvPcyV5AJTI/s1600/booch+bottle.jpg" /></a><br/>Kombucha bottle now containing home brewed version, <br/>but it looks much the same, I think.</div>
<p>I found a bottle of kombucha in the whole food shop that I buy malt extract from. On trying it, well... it was sweet and fizzy, which wasn't exactly what I was after, but it should be possible to tweak both. The underlying flavour was nice, so I pressed on to Step 2.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxesSmWzLjLDc3ciDfxQMxAuQbg01K5V4VzxwfTB4CL9BNXog3SZVyKvY4z966eVElriCCs12SrGIfe311XO1jrPt7zXdSgngekQ2Ncr9nPKqP9qktYBCTOyZLf9p4Wfed2AVLooL75_c/s1600/booch+label.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxesSmWzLjLDc3ciDfxQMxAuQbg01K5V4VzxwfTB4CL9BNXog3SZVyKvY4z966eVElriCCs12SrGIfe311XO1jrPt7zXdSgngekQ2Ncr9nPKqP9qktYBCTOyZLf9p4Wfed2AVLooL75_c/s1600/booch+label.jpg" /></a><br/><q>Because it is alive, a new culture will form in the bottle</q></div>
<p>Step 2 was cultivating a <q>mother</q> of kombucha, or SCOBY (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast). I checked before buying that the drink wasn't pasteurized, which would kill the yeast and bacteria. I saved a little of the drink to breed a new SCOBY from, and put it in a pint of sweet tea (normal black tea - one teabag in one pint* of boiling water, leave to cool then remove teabag and add two tablespoons of sugar). I covered the jar with cloth, put it in a warm-ish place and waited.</p>
<p>A light, white film formed within a few days, but then nothing seemed to happen for ages. It was about a month before I had something resembling a kombucha mother. I'm sorry I didn't take a photo at this stage, but then again, perhaps best not - they're not pretty. Now I had a mother and starter tea (a lot of the yeast cells are in the liquid, apparently, so you need both) I moved on to a larger batch: three and half pints or two litres of water, which is about the capacity of my larger saucepans, three teabags and 100g sugar. This time I used two green teabags with one black one - I have some rather old green tea with mint that needs using up, so I ignored the advice about not using flavoured teas at this stage (apparently the oils can inhibit the bacteria) and chucked a couple in.</p>
<p>This went into a half-gallon jar that once held pickled eggs, scavenged from the local pub. It took a while to get rid of the pickled egg smell, but it's OK now. This being rather heavy, I decided against the top of the cooker as the warm place. The adjacent cupboard gets quite warm, too, as it's against the chimney. I say quite warm - I put a thermometer in there and it read 18°C. It's all relative.
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPyTBkH_44u6rA_KNt6fVH-jwbEoXH3PYY0xCJ5dIxK9LAGA8P7GgAHd3DbjKB6CxYeU5-FXbOVxVmTzEAgaVUFCH2OMwFRknNrUfdZnTzU3wIDgwfJGSGbM5s5bOuNhdrOjtFgnCSj9E/s1600/booch+in+cupboard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPyTBkH_44u6rA_KNt6fVH-jwbEoXH3PYY0xCJ5dIxK9LAGA8P7GgAHd3DbjKB6CxYeU5-FXbOVxVmTzEAgaVUFCH2OMwFRknNrUfdZnTzU3wIDgwfJGSGbM5s5bOuNhdrOjtFgnCSj9E/s1600/booch+in+cupboard.jpg" /></a><br/>Two jugs were evicted and egg cups were rearranged to make room for this.</div>
<p>In theory, having the jar tucked away at the back of the cupboard should stop me moving it all the time to have a look and see how it's doing, but it didn't quite work like that. In spite of my interference, a new scoby formed within a week, albeit a thin one. I tasted the drink at seven days and liked it, though it's still a bit on the sweet side, if nowhere near as sweet as the commercial one.</p>
<p>I took some photos this time, so you can see what the scoby looks like:</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOACvEcV_UEHvI9bCjxUoZ8F26RWDe2vS6B31sWIEgzs51gbTlqm88Y6ym2SFx45YcnBye4Jt7PCi6RtXV3jX4XbXPDKn_B6yog9BVY698KJrdzhN67qa5-7LbftiFM9eCth3nYNzGKVo/s1600/booch+scoby+top.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOACvEcV_UEHvI9bCjxUoZ8F26RWDe2vS6B31sWIEgzs51gbTlqm88Y6ym2SFx45YcnBye4Jt7PCi6RtXV3jX4XbXPDKn_B6yog9BVY698KJrdzhN67qa5-7LbftiFM9eCth3nYNzGKVo/s1600/booch+scoby+top.jpg" /></a></div>
<p>The misty film on the top develops into a cellulose mat. The old one floated up underneath the new one, which is what the beige patches are. The edge is bent down where I poked a dropper through to sample a bit before deciding whether to bottle it.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkulChaTs1thvSLZVJb-6FHw2kF2EpSTKeZvFmyQiFZOrJoqUpxXyXlUABdHwvEgOVJimUhYhxTaxGcxRSymVcOFiM5LTe1MgSV9P303JhVNnudw181SZ3RCRlaJeO1C8lKgoZujV98DE/s1600/booch+scoby+side.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkulChaTs1thvSLZVJb-6FHw2kF2EpSTKeZvFmyQiFZOrJoqUpxXyXlUABdHwvEgOVJimUhYhxTaxGcxRSymVcOFiM5LTe1MgSV9P303JhVNnudw181SZ3RCRlaJeO1C8lKgoZujV98DE/s1600/booch+scoby+side.jpg" /></a></div>
<p>From the side, you can see bits hanging down from the floating mat. It's supposed to look like this. Apparently this is a good thing.</p>
<p>At this stage, people often add flavourings and a little extra sugar when bottling, for a second fermentation, to produce a little fizz. It's very much like making beer. Since the drink's already a bit sweet, I'm not adding any more sugar this time. Also, at this stage, I'm sticking with the natural flavour, though I'll probably experiment with flavourings at some point.</p>
<p>The main change I'm planning to make is to replace the tea with something that doesn't have caffeine. Apparently it's the tannin that's important, so oak leaves are an obvious choice. I think beech leaves have tannin, too, and also blackberry leaves, which I may try if I don't get round to hacking back the brambles before they put out new leaves in the spring.</p>
<p>I'm hoping that with a bit of playing around, I'll end up with something that's (virtually) non-alcoholic, has no caffeine, almost no sugar, but still tastes good. It sounds like a pretty tall order, when I put it like that, but I think it might be possible. It's got to be worth a try, anyway.</p>
<br/>---<br/>
<br/>
* I knew that American gallons are smaller than British ones, but it only recently occurred to me to check pints - yes, American pints are smaller too. I'm using British pints.Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16619866897155085499noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3388623297510187244.post-24134536195726532462016-03-01T21:21:00.000+00:002016-03-01T21:21:56.808+00:00Dydd gŵyl Dewi hapus<p>Happy St David's Day! (That's what the post title means, by the way.) To mark the occasion, I'm going to attempt a bit of Welsh:</p>
<p>Es i i dosbarth Cymraeg heddiw. Yn ystod amser cinio, aethon ni i'r caffe yn y Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru. Clywon ni cerdd telyn a bwyton ni picer y mân</p>
<p>I went to Welsh class today. During lunch time, we went to the café in the National Library of Wales. We heard harp music and ate welsh cakes.</p>
<p>Even in that little bit, I'm sure there are mistakes. It's very frustrating having just a little bit of a language, so that you can start to say something, then get stuck for words almost immediately. I'll keep trying, though. Corrections welcome!</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5BPC7kc0m6_1eW-tyzucbMcSNq69QtzCzx18HrvuAFEVItduSnSqNnuDPGnLktPyMUcSKx_2gw9yQ3AuJLn98fJyNURLEe9ey2YM1lIQyImnICBUNrD2BxLrLhlziiSHjhCtF8vIwSEc/s1600/dydd+gwyl+Dwei+hapus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5BPC7kc0m6_1eW-tyzucbMcSNq69QtzCzx18HrvuAFEVItduSnSqNnuDPGnLktPyMUcSKx_2gw9yQ3AuJLn98fJyNURLEe9ey2YM1lIQyImnICBUNrD2BxLrLhlziiSHjhCtF8vIwSEc/s1600/dydd+gwyl+Dwei+hapus.jpg" /></a></div>
<p>Image pinched from our <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Siocled-Moethus-Sarah-Bunton-Luxury-Chocolates-243312972372385/">local chocolatier</a>. Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16619866897155085499noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3388623297510187244.post-44687208947994951652016-02-28T21:40:00.000+00:002016-02-28T21:40:24.694+00:00Fermented veg: Not just sauerkraut<p>After my <a href="http://growingthingsandmakingthings.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/lacto-fermented-courgettes-update.html">early enthusiasm</a> for fermenting all of the vegetables, I settled down to <a href="http://growingthingsandmakingthings.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/sauerkraut-and-other-fermented-things.html">just sauerkraut</a>. However, seeing that carrots were going cheap in the supermarket recently, I bought a second bag and had a go at fermenting those.</p>
<p>Roughly following a recipe that someone shared in a facebook group, I added small quantities of onion and celery as well as a couple of pieces of crystallized stem ginger (the recipe had root ginger, but I had a jar of the sweet kind in the cupboard). There was something else in the recipe, too - I forget what it was, but I didn't have any.</p>
<p>I wanted to be sure that the ginger (grated, and rather sticky) was evenly mixed with the carrot so, instead of my usual method of adding ingredients in turn to a jar and pressing down as I go, I sprinkled salt over the grated carrots in a bowl first, then mixed the ginger through, and added the other vegetables last, and mixed it all up with my hands. Finally, I packed the mixture into a jar and pressed down. It released enough liquid to submerge everything when it was well squashed.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_Rh4n92CPHoM-QZH_08rLERXT0QpR1e1bFO64z8G5JWXDOBLZq4OysYJXhZGVqjT4ZKqg5HZu-Ba1C-YsQfx2VhVR_AJn9Z_H-HIjmxnsf01wrV_MsAFyN4ogKPi3XMTrZg4rRfE4x0Q/s1600/fermented+carrots.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_Rh4n92CPHoM-QZH_08rLERXT0QpR1e1bFO64z8G5JWXDOBLZq4OysYJXhZGVqjT4ZKqg5HZu-Ba1C-YsQfx2VhVR_AJn9Z_H-HIjmxnsf01wrV_MsAFyN4ogKPi3XMTrZg4rRfE4x0Q/s1600/fermented+carrots.jpg" /></a><br/>Fermented carrot salad. The stones are used to keep it under the liquid.</div>
<p>After about a week I tried some and really liked it. I'd wondered whether fermenting the sugar out would lose an essential feature of carrotiness and leave it dull and possibly bitter, but not at all. It just tastes like a tangy grated carrot salad, as if I'd added a good vinegar dressing. It's nice on its own, with cheese or cold meat in a sandwich or, less obviously, as a substitute for chopped tomatoes in cheesy pasta. In fact, I'd say this makes a pretty good alternative to tomatoes in salad, which is great, since I've had no success in growing tomatoes. Unfortunately, I haven't done very well growing carrots, either, but at least they're cheap to buy.</p>Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16619866897155085499noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3388623297510187244.post-36849675165287512452016-02-18T15:33:00.001+00:002016-02-18T15:33:46.744+00:00A sunshine and bara brith sort of a day<p>There are bad days and there are good days. Today is a day of sunshine without the icy north wind that came with it at the weekend.Today is a day for seeing the first crocus buds in the garden.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhasJzpZQZRja7BBI4VJmxVVgrbrUTz_N7glEQQD0sI5rbLK4vabTY-XmnCuy9-OA_MlGHp2cXmNidVEAeHT9KeCw2dzosrUJkOgZGiB0maWj5Y9hNC4HekoFyskCn-cJqfOhPCLjJmb5E/s1600/crocus+buds.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhasJzpZQZRja7BBI4VJmxVVgrbrUTz_N7glEQQD0sI5rbLK4vabTY-XmnCuy9-OA_MlGHp2cXmNidVEAeHT9KeCw2dzosrUJkOgZGiB0maWj5Y9hNC4HekoFyskCn-cJqfOhPCLjJmb5E/s1600/crocus+buds.jpg" /></a></div>
<p>Today is a day of the steam train going past, and the driver waving while I'm hanging the washing out on the line. Today is a day of a firewood delivery in weather that's quite pleasant to be out it (but only because Ian deferred it from yesterday, when it was chucking it down).</p>
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<p>Today is the kind of day when some firewood is just too pretty to burn.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj33cCNeTZlc_6UK6-H5e-kDei729VyXdSADj9a90Wl0UBJtZfYl7XYtLQUYjLsOVV11jN3eBNaMyBoBSCXlPa7uw2MDOnci5UYbuxI-mbjuDAlMySGvjUGFA7G09Bt-ynPOp4q74q-3ZA/s1600/pretty+firewood.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj33cCNeTZlc_6UK6-H5e-kDei729VyXdSADj9a90Wl0UBJtZfYl7XYtLQUYjLsOVV11jN3eBNaMyBoBSCXlPa7uw2MDOnci5UYbuxI-mbjuDAlMySGvjUGFA7G09Bt-ynPOp4q74q-3ZA/s1600/pretty+firewood.jpg" /></a></div>
<p>Today is a day of home made bara brith (literally 'speckled bread', this is half way between bread and fruit cake).</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhntq5actH1HHkZGCPEselvbcctxkqYjcX0k92bDtkqZJelOVthJAlaTJelm3SZW-hYI_Mu8K5hfjJJZ97QwJbPVr8KmBpTU1yPaab0TizuhAcDHRqsoaPwBMTwusLZTTcnB42iGXJrP5s/s1600/bara+brith.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhntq5actH1HHkZGCPEselvbcctxkqYjcX0k92bDtkqZJelOVthJAlaTJelm3SZW-hYI_Mu8K5hfjJJZ97QwJbPVr8KmBpTU1yPaab0TizuhAcDHRqsoaPwBMTwusLZTTcnB42iGXJrP5s/s1600/bara+brith.jpg" /></a></div>
<p>Today is a day when I <em>might</em> feel able to face the greenhouse, which is in dire need of a clear-out.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRAsLMvjIAioD3MGClVR5aSxQKSjsgtm8t0JK4uv5yqt0id4mvfxAe_brPayEZmpV3ZPgx6D39rds6jCVeP0aGgXMRornyhqwsdRFRSMmFtJUZsF8C-JMnD7mCbgTHiasmbUc5-LtB8X4/s1600/messy+greenhouse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRAsLMvjIAioD3MGClVR5aSxQKSjsgtm8t0JK4uv5yqt0id4mvfxAe_brPayEZmpV3ZPgx6D39rds6jCVeP0aGgXMRornyhqwsdRFRSMmFtJUZsF8C-JMnD7mCbgTHiasmbUc5-LtB8X4/s1600/messy+greenhouse.jpg" /></a></div>
<p>I'm not promising anything, though. I have a cup of tea and a slice of bara brith, and a cat who's just started kneading my arm.</p>Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16619866897155085499noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3388623297510187244.post-68480631651689789172016-02-13T21:41:00.003+00:002016-02-13T21:41:54.371+00:00Signs of spring<p>This week, I have been mostly studying Welsh and proofreading, which don't make for the most interesting blog posts. Outdoors, however, it has finally stopped raining and looks almost like spring, which is very exciting. It's also cold enough that I don't mind too much not being able to get out in it. Of course, this year the weather has been so mixed up that early signs of spring are more a cause for concern than celebration, but these are not daffodils flowering in January...</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIIfMuEftaevbg_QoFf_OVLjMdSbn3I4AvIFQ41MW-otWuME5aAz-pr7xxsuRZr5NxAzMmJD0-ZisVE7Hi6g5FmUAAitT4K-9vn-HOFHoOJKGidB6SIYF4FK6dqcGAmqCIQOFWiLJg4hg/s1600/snowdrops+chewed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIIfMuEftaevbg_QoFf_OVLjMdSbn3I4AvIFQ41MW-otWuME5aAz-pr7xxsuRZr5NxAzMmJD0-ZisVE7Hi6g5FmUAAitT4K-9vn-HOFHoOJKGidB6SIYF4FK6dqcGAmqCIQOFWiLJg4hg/s1600/snowdrops+chewed.jpg" /></a><br/>I might have had snowdrop flowers if the slugs hadn't chewed them off.</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPa5r979cVkyin8ZFQNC6c4oMmioE-XLn81JKqZe5gW6-sq_9uvNu0u2GnSEPaSbr7NKOPqiSbptucojH4CDzXciz-XOkgHyzs1cWlsAvScVUFDVRbF82TT-8Pszj99m1Y_8vvRZrJP9Q/s1600/pussy+willow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPa5r979cVkyin8ZFQNC6c4oMmioE-XLn81JKqZe5gW6-sq_9uvNu0u2GnSEPaSbr7NKOPqiSbptucojH4CDzXciz-XOkgHyzs1cWlsAvScVUFDVRbF82TT-8Pszj99m1Y_8vvRZrJP9Q/s1600/pussy+willow.jpg" /></a><br/>The willow I planted last year has pussy willows! When I was five, I put one of these up my nose. A bigger kid told me to.</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAmO0u8A0gLy6KA9c-tx9Uch2r6r4gXejOR2Y5LGeu67k9zcZYnp5wOiCyMoh1TwUAD7nGJmR8Ybkp3q7rDlVOrWMN18WkxFx6xW6pwSAMb-5I7cnk3DI6nn4vo-V1Krzq4ddax2355tI/s1600/elder+leaves.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAmO0u8A0gLy6KA9c-tx9Uch2r6r4gXejOR2Y5LGeu67k9zcZYnp5wOiCyMoh1TwUAD7nGJmR8Ybkp3q7rDlVOrWMN18WkxFx6xW6pwSAMb-5I7cnk3DI6nn4vo-V1Krzq4ddax2355tI/s1600/elder+leaves.jpg" /></a><br/>Pebble's elder tree has leaves coming out.</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigPU2UM-to7PQv4A5qBiBTGU5EJRCLczI6w-vF3ryckMckju0lfT6nHOeArxfC3ZpfcX8hUjpk_8_Kq_46Y1oprTVhNm8h87YEBMr7YhgieNPG2c1aqTye4-4upmFZjQesRCACQKF63ro/s1600/first+train.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigPU2UM-to7PQv4A5qBiBTGU5EJRCLczI6w-vF3ryckMckju0lfT6nHOeArxfC3ZpfcX8hUjpk_8_Kq_46Y1oprTVhNm8h87YEBMr7YhgieNPG2c1aqTye4-4upmFZjQesRCACQKF63ro/s1600/first+train.jpg" /></a><br/>What really tells us that winter is over, though, is the first train of the year!</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgITo051tZhibwq4lYHanmaYjlGsSsc_-2IcSpJcPj2hdW8eMjJwvRDwPb0LmyZQwkuw1vF2Wq6wsvAvXB4hSpX0qjC1EhoyLrCHiGxOjEOv-hlabsfYFLzz2s6ujwbmyr5Bu9HkOBF9Ts/s1600/George+watching+train.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgITo051tZhibwq4lYHanmaYjlGsSsc_-2IcSpJcPj2hdW8eMjJwvRDwPb0LmyZQwkuw1vF2Wq6wsvAvXB4hSpX0qjC1EhoyLrCHiGxOjEOv-hlabsfYFLzz2s6ujwbmyr5Bu9HkOBF9Ts/s1600/George+watching+train.jpg" /></a><br/>George came to watch the second one.</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4YtGO8ptv-Nc91IWYpmOPxXuLZxkRex_J5Due0qCbOQe-fUiqQhkL2gDkmMMkbbr9eaSAp42qYGoOdPSMFKDeeaslENSshU9T5JXOGCItmw2m6_0XKpDCoNViWiKXYm9MaDSXPPxWErk/s1600/moon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4YtGO8ptv-Nc91IWYpmOPxXuLZxkRex_J5Due0qCbOQe-fUiqQhkL2gDkmMMkbbr9eaSAp42qYGoOdPSMFKDeeaslENSshU9T5JXOGCItmw2m6_0XKpDCoNViWiKXYm9MaDSXPPxWErk/s1600/moon.jpg" /></a><br/>Not a sign of spring, but the moon was rather beautiful this evening.</div>Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16619866897155085499noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3388623297510187244.post-16316926391126200382016-02-08T22:16:00.000+00:002016-02-08T22:16:58.915+00:00End of the post a day challenge<p>Well, that fizzled out a bit, didn't it? I was doing fine for a couple of weeks, but even before we went away, I was getting a bit fed up with this challenge. I found myself posting things just for the sake of getting something posted before the end of the day, and not taking time to write more thoughtful posts. Blogging started to feel like a bit of a bind, so when we got home, I hadn't really got the heart to get back into the challenge.</p>
<p>On the plus side, it did get me back into the habit of blogging, which was the point of it. I also posted a few things that had been lurking in drafts, or in the photo file having not even got to drafts, for far too long. Now I don't have so many unwritten posts hanging over me, I feel a little less guilty about neglecting the blog. This doesn't mean I'll neglect it more - guilt has the opposite effect on me; when I feel guilty about something I tend to avoid it. How counterproductive is that? I feel guilty about not doing enough of something, so I run away and do even less of it! Is this just me?</p>
<p>Anyway, I'm going to stop pretending I'm writing a post a day, but I will try to write about things as and when I have something vaguely interesting to say, or a nice photo to show you. In the meantime, here are some pictures of George:</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkWrGJ4s6rjZ2s9DMsiVsen3RJYG1b8T3t-_HUDpxonVKLufsKL47Mpk_5oyzmpISLmM_SObtq2Q-vAXsgycnWumfSPcPVNeGcP2ksqVhs0cSG2B8EMx6DcvD0a9Z0etizm1YN60WLDrE/s1600/George+with+willow+fence.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkWrGJ4s6rjZ2s9DMsiVsen3RJYG1b8T3t-_HUDpxonVKLufsKL47Mpk_5oyzmpISLmM_SObtq2Q-vAXsgycnWumfSPcPVNeGcP2ksqVhs0cSG2B8EMx6DcvD0a9Z0etizm1YN60WLDrE/s640/George+with+willow+fence.jpg" /></a><br/>Outdoors, last summer. I'm looking forward to some outdoors weather again.</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqL3A173HXuI8l9kmPY7WZG6xeTnE-AFVNCXqRUljW4pOIhr6xzpaRePqnrqV2uk4RHTMjHDfwNEBX4fKTUvEhZvLzQBG-CpgvwUytbBePrdxleIWyirqnoDz4Z7OVxpNp9eGVNWxIs8c/s1600/George+on+sofa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqL3A173HXuI8l9kmPY7WZG6xeTnE-AFVNCXqRUljW4pOIhr6xzpaRePqnrqV2uk4RHTMjHDfwNEBX4fKTUvEhZvLzQBG-CpgvwUytbBePrdxleIWyirqnoDz4Z7OVxpNp9eGVNWxIs8c/s640/George+on+sofa.jpg" /></a><br/>On the sofa, where he spends most of his time at the moment.</div>Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16619866897155085499noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3388623297510187244.post-6436554951887969102016-02-05T18:35:00.000+00:002016-02-05T18:35:06.427+00:00Seed audit and planning<p>The first step in planning what seeds to buy was to find my seed pot. It was on the floor just there for ages, but then I tidied up... I found it eventually, and there are quite a lot of seeds in it.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2lA4p8cPH7TIuuz5vbSwDOil_fRuDdMc9RcEI_vbDduGla5aMD5gr9AnaLCjePFxluvuPkLhBolU31HBadESQhhnC5hy-wFJSixbkcEFMBHYzsRkx1H6HtSJvxCf3c8cr7ZrHSgXDgw0/s1600/seeds+old.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2lA4p8cPH7TIuuz5vbSwDOil_fRuDdMc9RcEI_vbDduGla5aMD5gr9AnaLCjePFxluvuPkLhBolU31HBadESQhhnC5hy-wFJSixbkcEFMBHYzsRkx1H6HtSJvxCf3c8cr7ZrHSgXDgw0/s1600/seeds+old.jpg" /></a><br />Seeds, various. Very various.</div>
<p>A lot of these are old, but I think I'll take a chance on them and only buy what I haven't already got. I have:-
<ul>
<li>Field beans, some old, some saved, <q>possibly mouldy</q></li>
<li>Dutch brown beans, saved</li>
<li>Borlotto beans, old</li>
<li>Peas, old-ish, Exzellenz, not enough</li>
<li>Brocolli, some old, <strike>some</strike> masses of saved</li>
<li>Red cabbage, old but masses of them</li>
<li>Spring onions, two varieties, at least one of which is fresh</li>
<li>Hokkaido squash, just four seeds</li>
<li>Carrots, old</li>
<li>Root parsley</li>
<li>Parsnips, saved</li>
<li>Leeks, saved (hopefully)</li>
<li>Chard, two varieties</li>
<li>Fennel, old but lots</li>
<li>Purslane</li>
<li>Basil</li>
<li>Beetroot</li>
<li>Borage</li>
<li>Nasturtiums</li>
<li>Sweet peas</li>
</ul>
To add to these, I now have anise hyssop and primroses - thank you Sara! This is a pretty good selection, before I've even bought anything. I've decided against growing tomatoes this year, as they need a lot of attention and I've yet to get a decent crop. Carrots would be off the list if I didn't already have seeds - I'm not sure whether to bother sowing them or not. Peas do well, so I'll get more of those. Similarly potatoes - I tried one of the blight resistant Sarpo varieties last year, and I'd like to grow those again. I'll also add courgettes and sweetcorn to the list.</p> <p>The only other veg I'm wondering about is asparagus. My seed-grown plants have mostly failed, and I do like asparagus a lot. I wonder whether plants grown from crowns might be strong enough to withstand some slug-chewing? Or if not, whether I might be able to defend a few plants successfully? Given the otherwise short shopping list, it might be worth a go.</p>Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16619866897155085499noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3388623297510187244.post-32610632944223632682016-02-04T23:18:00.002+00:002016-02-04T23:18:56.669+00:00Getting into a rut<p>A common theme in self-development advice is breaking free from routine. Routines stifle us, say the lifestyle gurus say*. Break out of the rut and set yourself free! While it can be true that blindly following a routine can be limiting, what about the flip side? What if you don't have a routine at all?</p>
<p>Without the demands of children or a job to structure my days, I'm left to decide how to fill the hours. Particularly when mental resources are low, decisions can be taxing, and there's a danger of sliding into the easy, tempting option of browsing the internet. So many interesting things!</p>
<p>I have a problem with hours disappearing as I follow links from facebook, read blogs, and look up the answers to various questions - either prompted by claims on facebook or things I was just wondering about (Can we really live on potatoes alone? What acids are produced in kombucha? No, and acetic and gluconic acids, respectively).</p>
<p>The thing about routines is that they make things easy. This is why it takes effort to break out of them. That's not to say that they're easy to establish; it takes a while before you get the thought popping into your head, <q>Now it's time to do X.</q> Of course, you don't have to make a decision every day while you establish the routine, just find a bit of motivation.</p>
<p>I didn't think it was realistic to construction a whole day's worth of routine all at once and in any case, I wasn't sure I even needed all of that. My main goal was to stop losing entire days on the computer. I've been piecing it together over the last year, and I think it could do with quite a lot more tweaking (as I still spend far too much time on the computer), but this is what I've got so far:-</p>
<ol>
<li>Get out of bed and go to the bathroom</li>
<li>Fuss cat</li>
<li>Get dressed into underclothes and soft trousers</li>
<li>10 min worth of exercise</li>
<li>Change soft trousers for jeans</li>
<li>Breakfast WITHOUT switching on computer. Read something in Welsh instead.</li>
<li>Wash the dishes. Listen to the radio (also in Welsh) if I feel like it</li>
<li>Tea break. If I listened to the radio, the computer is switched on by now, so I'll probably look at it.</li>
<li>.....</li>
<li>Lunch</li>
<li>.....</li>
<li>More tea</li>
<li>.....</li>
<li>Prepare, then eat, dinner</li>
</ol>
<p>You'll noticed that George has added one item to this list. He gets plenty of attention at other times of day, too, but it's first thing in the morning that he's most interested. There are also little jobs that get done at this time, like kneading bread dough or putting laundry in the machine.</p>
<p>The ten minutes of exercise was inspired by my sister and her husband, who've taken to doing a brief workout every evening after the kids have gone to bed and before dinner. My sister said that if she had my lifestyle, she'd do it first thing in the morning, and I agree. Whereas they're focusing on strength and fitness, I have problems with tense muscles in my back, so I'm doing a bit of half-remembered chi gong and some stretches.</p>
<p>I was going to write <em>do something</em> in the gaps between meals and tea breaks, but if I'm honest, that doesn't always happen. That's the idea, anyway. Stuff I need to get done is so varied that I can't include it very specifically in a schedule, but if I have chunks of time when I'm expecting to get on with whatever project is on the go, then hopefully I'll make some progress. Even if I don't, at least the kitchen is less of a bombsite these days, which makes me feel a lot better when I need to use it.</p>
<p>With this blogging challenge, I was hoping to find a time of day for regular blogging, and maybe manage to shoehorn other computer stuff into that time slot, too. As you'll have noticed, the challenge has suffered a bit of a setback lately. We went away for a few days and it was more difficult to get into a writing frame of mind. I could have done it if I'd had some posts lined up before we went, but I'm not that organised. Before that, though, I was starting to find that the afternoon tea break felt like time to start writing a blog post, so hopefully I'll get back to that. Maybe I'll even resist looking at the computer earlier in the day, but that takes will power, and the whole point of a routine is to avoid needing to rely on will power too much. Hmm, needs more work, I think.</p>
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* At least, they used to. Judging by how difficult it was to find an article to illustrate this point, I guess this advice may have gone out of fashion.Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16619866897155085499noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3388623297510187244.post-69583668291709672362016-01-29T23:01:00.000+00:002016-01-29T23:01:00.772+00:00 A little progress on the fireplace<p>I've been stalling on plastering the fireplace because of that wire. I feel I really should do something to fix it in place, at least. Even if it doesn't need protection, it's going to be easier to plaster if it's fixed. This afternoon I went downstairs to see what kind of rubbish we might have available. I found some bits of - I think Land Rover - head lining. Lightweight, insulating type stuff, easy to cut. I then sought out some staples that Ian salvaged from some pallets he broke up for firewood. They're flimsy things, but I can't find the longer panel pins that I'm sure we've got somewhere.</p>
<p>Anyway, I cut some strips of the stuff and managed to get two of them pinned to the wall. Only about a dozen staples were sacrificed in the process. I gave up on the third strip, but Ian pointed out that the wire should be fixed quite firmly at the bottom, because it's likely to get pulled. If it breaks up all the plaster, that would be quite annoying.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrbZ2u6d0SgjdHyKWl-TSX0A7MqvfHG8vSWubmVxdwQ2JWHqxOHyGI_QoKrquT7vY9RnMHPdO4mOlLbXPVS4c8-Hx9jnx_SLKbc-nXpk2sGiWZgsA3sGVO4_1AJnVBc12di9O5dLdd6qc/s1600/fireplace+wire.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrbZ2u6d0SgjdHyKWl-TSX0A7MqvfHG8vSWubmVxdwQ2JWHqxOHyGI_QoKrquT7vY9RnMHPdO4mOlLbXPVS4c8-Hx9jnx_SLKbc-nXpk2sGiWZgsA3sGVO4_1AJnVBc12di9O5dLdd6qc/s1600/fireplace+wire.jpg" /></a><br/>Wire, sort-of fixed</div>
<p>For the lower fixing, I smacked a tapered bit of firewood into a gap between the bricks and broke it off, then screwed an eyelet it. It was just the right size for the wire but, of course, far too small for the plug on the end of it. I had to pull apart the connection (on which Ian had fixed the insulation problem), then join it back together and re-do all that fiddly insulation.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7eY6HWqVZ5tCVfXZnnNKemov-yfCSr1ZAHGd7k52Ghf9ux861rHfu7tq31xw8mHtSj0Mr-q3pMBGNxMZPSStTAJ2iQD1Oy8J1eMZy2Mg2YfNM0HzduJkougb6BUGoxK-wH8VhkFzenzs/s1600/fireplace+wire+fixing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7eY6HWqVZ5tCVfXZnnNKemov-yfCSr1ZAHGd7k52Ghf9ux861rHfu7tq31xw8mHtSj0Mr-q3pMBGNxMZPSStTAJ2iQD1Oy8J1eMZy2Mg2YfNM0HzduJkougb6BUGoxK-wH8VhkFzenzs/s1600/fireplace+wire+fixing.jpg" /></a><br/>Wire going through eyelet, which will hopefully stop it pulling on the plaster.</div>
<p>Now I have no excuse not to do the plastering.</p>Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16619866897155085499noreply@blogger.com0