The new neighbours have moved in. The old ones were still in the process of moving when the next van arrived with the new neighbours' belongings. The van was from Luton so clearly our new neighbours have moved quite a distance. The van remained outside overnight. Despite this it was, and is, remarkably quiet. We have yet to meet them but, at least, they're clearly not excessive noisemakers which is always of concern when you have a shared wall.
Down at the Pub yesterday it was a noisy session. The crossword never even got started, let alone completed. All the regular faces were there. Both Fran & Mrs B, the retired headmistress, have been ill this year, so it was great to see them again. In Mrs B's case it is the first time she's managed it this year! The ill-health has clearly taken its toll on our friends. At least part of that is because Mrs B, Fran & Den, are all 80 this year & their powers of recovery are slowing down. However, they are on the mend & that is the main thing. Mrs B could even raise some of the old spark & fire which makes her such great, if sometimes, dangerous company.
This week I seem to have been very tired. It's that spot of gardening on Tuesday that did it I suspect. I'm hoping later today to get on to the next stage, adding some compost to the bed, then I only have to plant the new herbs I bought at Barton Grange over a week ago. Time goes so fast. I'll also plant out the parsley & mint that have been inside over winter. I've been hardening them off all week. Next week I'll start hardening off Basil Bush, so he can be planted before we're off to France next month.
I think we're pretty well prepared for the holiday now. Just a few last minute things to do & that's it. We're really looking forward to it.
Saturday, 31 March 2012
Friday, 30 March 2012
Moving house
So we set off to the Farmers' Market. Soon we grind to a halt behind a long line of stationary traffic. What's this? New roadworks? Then it dawns upon us. No, this is the queue for petrol at the garage a bit further along the road. We hastily get out of the queue, pass it & get on our way. We were warned from then on. Every time we came to stationary traffic & there wasn't normally lights etc but there was a petrol station nearby, we pulled out. Every garage we passed had a long line of cars etc spilling out onto the road. Panic buying has really set in. The more the government tries to backtrack on the jerrycan comment, the longer the queues grow. And the strike may not even happen!
Meanwhile today, on a suitably cloudy grey day, our neighbours next door are busily loading up their belongings. They've finally managed to sell their house & are moving to pastures green.
In my experience it always seems to be grey, often positively wet, when you need to move house. Maybe it just seems that way, because I don't think I have ever moved house without some feelings of regret, pangs of happy memories spent in the old home.
I can't say I've ever really regretted our move here. Certainly the move from Arnside has been wholly positive. From an upstairs flat in which I was beginning to feel increasingly imprisoned due to my growing mobility problems, to here, where I can just step out of the door to the car or garden can only be good.
At the time we would have liked to stay in Arnside. We had lived happily there for over 20 years. We came to Morecambe because it was the only place we could afford which we thought wasn't too bad. Since coming here, we have been overwhelmed by the friendliness of the people. Arnside is very hilly & most of the shops have steps in. Here things are much flatter & most of the shops have level entrances.
Having a garden has been a real boon. Although I can rarely make it to the far end of the back garden - it's 100 metres long! - I can enjoy the colours of the grass, trees & flowers, enjoy the sounds & antics of the birds and other wildlife, without having to venture far from the building. There is an area just to sit out & feel the sun on my face on the rare day it's warm enough for me to want to sit out. The bits of the garden near the house ie the herb garden in the front & the bog garden in the back, I try to keep tidy myself. The rest tends to get left to Al & the Fox. It's wonderful to see the passage of the seasons, the signs of new life in the spring, the glorious colours of autumn. No, the move was good.
At one point, since we moved here & we gained some extra money, we did wonder whether we wouldn't prefer to move over to the other side of Morecambe since we mysteriously seem to have made most of our new friends over there. However, property over there was £100,000+ more expensive (and generally smaller and/or in need of great renovation), which is a lot of holidays & other treats. Ultimately we concluded we prefer the extra privacy afforded by living that bit further away from friends.
This is the place for us & we intend to stay until we have to move again. We suspect that will be when one of us dies or we've become too infirm to cope with such a large house & need sheltered accommodation or even a care home. Hopefully that won't be for a long time to come.
Meanwhile today, on a suitably cloudy grey day, our neighbours next door are busily loading up their belongings. They've finally managed to sell their house & are moving to pastures green.
In my experience it always seems to be grey, often positively wet, when you need to move house. Maybe it just seems that way, because I don't think I have ever moved house without some feelings of regret, pangs of happy memories spent in the old home.
I can't say I've ever really regretted our move here. Certainly the move from Arnside has been wholly positive. From an upstairs flat in which I was beginning to feel increasingly imprisoned due to my growing mobility problems, to here, where I can just step out of the door to the car or garden can only be good.
At the time we would have liked to stay in Arnside. We had lived happily there for over 20 years. We came to Morecambe because it was the only place we could afford which we thought wasn't too bad. Since coming here, we have been overwhelmed by the friendliness of the people. Arnside is very hilly & most of the shops have steps in. Here things are much flatter & most of the shops have level entrances.
Having a garden has been a real boon. Although I can rarely make it to the far end of the back garden - it's 100 metres long! - I can enjoy the colours of the grass, trees & flowers, enjoy the sounds & antics of the birds and other wildlife, without having to venture far from the building. There is an area just to sit out & feel the sun on my face on the rare day it's warm enough for me to want to sit out. The bits of the garden near the house ie the herb garden in the front & the bog garden in the back, I try to keep tidy myself. The rest tends to get left to Al & the Fox. It's wonderful to see the passage of the seasons, the signs of new life in the spring, the glorious colours of autumn. No, the move was good.
At one point, since we moved here & we gained some extra money, we did wonder whether we wouldn't prefer to move over to the other side of Morecambe since we mysteriously seem to have made most of our new friends over there. However, property over there was £100,000+ more expensive (and generally smaller and/or in need of great renovation), which is a lot of holidays & other treats. Ultimately we concluded we prefer the extra privacy afforded by living that bit further away from friends.
This is the place for us & we intend to stay until we have to move again. We suspect that will be when one of us dies or we've become too infirm to cope with such a large house & need sheltered accommodation or even a care home. Hopefully that won't be for a long time to come.
Thursday, 29 March 2012
Change of a day
The sun is trying to shine again, though it is later on the scene today. Yesterday, the temperature had gone down again to more normal March temperatures. In the pub garden, smokers & dog-owners once more huddled into their jackets. Today even looks colder.
While we were out yesterday, we noticed the sign for the Famers' Market has been put out. So today we are once more thinking of venturing that way & then maybe have lunch at the Pub, as we had intended to do last week. PD, too, has seen the sign & hastily rang this morning to let us know. He knows how disappointed we were last week & didn't want us to miss it because we hadn't seen the boards - a kind thought.
Meanwhile we seem to be having a bit of a plague of new invaders into our home - ants. We keep trying to work out where they come from but it is not obvious. We would put something down to deter them if we knew how they came in. We suspect there just must be so many around, they are coming in on the soles of our shoes. However, they're doing it, there's just too many for our liking.
The other notable thing yesterday was the queues at the petrol stations around. On Tuesday, when we we'd done our supermarket shop, we stopped & filled up with petrol. The tank was a fair way down, & we were aware we would need plenty for our trip down to Liverpool airport & back next month. It seemed busier than usual but not too bad. We did notice one person filling a hand-held container. Even then we suspected panic buying was beginning to set in. After the government's announcements about filling "jerrycans" yesterday, panic buying is now in full swing. At this rate the garages will be running out of petrol just because people will be stockpiling so much, despite the potential fire risks & illegality involved in so doing. At this rate there will be no need for a strike to grind the country to a full stop!
While we were out yesterday, we noticed the sign for the Famers' Market has been put out. So today we are once more thinking of venturing that way & then maybe have lunch at the Pub, as we had intended to do last week. PD, too, has seen the sign & hastily rang this morning to let us know. He knows how disappointed we were last week & didn't want us to miss it because we hadn't seen the boards - a kind thought.
Meanwhile we seem to be having a bit of a plague of new invaders into our home - ants. We keep trying to work out where they come from but it is not obvious. We would put something down to deter them if we knew how they came in. We suspect there just must be so many around, they are coming in on the soles of our shoes. However, they're doing it, there's just too many for our liking.
The other notable thing yesterday was the queues at the petrol stations around. On Tuesday, when we we'd done our supermarket shop, we stopped & filled up with petrol. The tank was a fair way down, & we were aware we would need plenty for our trip down to Liverpool airport & back next month. It seemed busier than usual but not too bad. We did notice one person filling a hand-held container. Even then we suspected panic buying was beginning to set in. After the government's announcements about filling "jerrycans" yesterday, panic buying is now in full swing. At this rate the garages will be running out of petrol just because people will be stockpiling so much, despite the potential fire risks & illegality involved in so doing. At this rate there will be no need for a strike to grind the country to a full stop!
Wednesday, 28 March 2012
Busy day
Yesterday was an exhausting day. It started well. I stepped out of the back door to go to the laundry room, when my eyes were caught by the sight of this magpie flying over with what looked like a branch of a tree its beak. It's clearly nesting time, but this "twig" was so big it was almost enough to ground the bird & it would certainly of been difficult to manipulate - or is that beakulate - into position as part of a nest.
My first task of the day after breakfast was to prepare some potatoes & bake a flan case ready for dinner - a turkey & ham flan. Then I progressed with the ironing. One thing about all this warm dry weather is that it is conducive to getting the washing dried early in the week so I can get on with the ironing early in the week too.
Ironing, too, turned into a bit of a nature watch. As it was so warm, I had the back door open. An enormous bumble bee paid a visit. At first it didn't bother me, but then it started flying around my hands. At this point I started to get worried. I didn't want to get stung. Eventually it flew off & buzzed ineffectually, though noisily, on the window. I duly got up, unlocked the window & let it out. Peace once more!
After a tea break, & completing my jigsaw, I decided the time had come to tackle the front garden. My hands are now covered with scratches to prove the hard work put in. I pulled out the weeds, the remains of the fennel that had died in the snows of the winter of 2010-11 (I'd left it in all last summer in the hope of a revival, but there were still no signs of life), pruned some of the herbs that were getting overgrown. The oregano needed more drastic treatment. It was doing its best to take over the whole garden so I tried to dig up a large part of it. I never realised what long roots it had. Now the garden is looking a lot tidier. My next job is to add a little extra compost, before planting out my new herbs. But by this time I was too exhausted to continue on that day.
So, come the afternoon, we decide the time had come to do the big food shop. In theory I write a shopping list for 6 days meals. The Fox then usually decides on one meal a week he fancies trying. Generally, somehow, that means we have food for 2-3 weeks with a minor top-up shop in the intervening week(s). But this was a big shop.
Home after that & dinner. The Fox had to give me a hand. By this time exhaustion was well & truly hitting me. By 9pm I was in bed - so much for going to see the drama being put on at the library - & was quickly fast asleep. For once I never ventured out of bed, or even more than momentarily from the land of nod, until after 8 this morning.
So now I'm wondering what to cook today. I'm contemplating, after doing this, popping down to the shops on the Mean Machine, my electric scooter, to get some fresh fish. There's no signs of advertising boards for the Farmers' Market yet. We had wondered if they'd changed the 4th Thursday of the month to the last Thursday of the month, but it doesn't look like it. We're back to supermarket meat it would seem. We're thinking we might go over to Carnforth & the Booth's supermarket there. The standard of meat does seem to be so better & to be very local. It may be a little pricier but you can usually taste the difference, certainly on the prime cuts of meat & I'm hoping to roast some lamb at the weekend. And there you can buy slat marsh lamb which we have come to really appreciate & prefer.
My first task of the day after breakfast was to prepare some potatoes & bake a flan case ready for dinner - a turkey & ham flan. Then I progressed with the ironing. One thing about all this warm dry weather is that it is conducive to getting the washing dried early in the week so I can get on with the ironing early in the week too.
Ironing, too, turned into a bit of a nature watch. As it was so warm, I had the back door open. An enormous bumble bee paid a visit. At first it didn't bother me, but then it started flying around my hands. At this point I started to get worried. I didn't want to get stung. Eventually it flew off & buzzed ineffectually, though noisily, on the window. I duly got up, unlocked the window & let it out. Peace once more!
After a tea break, & completing my jigsaw, I decided the time had come to tackle the front garden. My hands are now covered with scratches to prove the hard work put in. I pulled out the weeds, the remains of the fennel that had died in the snows of the winter of 2010-11 (I'd left it in all last summer in the hope of a revival, but there were still no signs of life), pruned some of the herbs that were getting overgrown. The oregano needed more drastic treatment. It was doing its best to take over the whole garden so I tried to dig up a large part of it. I never realised what long roots it had. Now the garden is looking a lot tidier. My next job is to add a little extra compost, before planting out my new herbs. But by this time I was too exhausted to continue on that day.
So, come the afternoon, we decide the time had come to do the big food shop. In theory I write a shopping list for 6 days meals. The Fox then usually decides on one meal a week he fancies trying. Generally, somehow, that means we have food for 2-3 weeks with a minor top-up shop in the intervening week(s). But this was a big shop.
Home after that & dinner. The Fox had to give me a hand. By this time exhaustion was well & truly hitting me. By 9pm I was in bed - so much for going to see the drama being put on at the library - & was quickly fast asleep. For once I never ventured out of bed, or even more than momentarily from the land of nod, until after 8 this morning.
So now I'm wondering what to cook today. I'm contemplating, after doing this, popping down to the shops on the Mean Machine, my electric scooter, to get some fresh fish. There's no signs of advertising boards for the Farmers' Market yet. We had wondered if they'd changed the 4th Thursday of the month to the last Thursday of the month, but it doesn't look like it. We're back to supermarket meat it would seem. We're thinking we might go over to Carnforth & the Booth's supermarket there. The standard of meat does seem to be so better & to be very local. It may be a little pricier but you can usually taste the difference, certainly on the prime cuts of meat & I'm hoping to roast some lamb at the weekend. And there you can buy slat marsh lamb which we have come to really appreciate & prefer.
Sunday, 25 March 2012
A surprise
What a lovely surprise! I was just about to switch off, when I discovered a friend was trying to get through to us on Skype. It's the first time we've used this facility & it was great to chat a bit to an old friend. Although I sometimes wonder about modern technology, it does have some advantages. I can see this may well turn into a good tool in these days when age & ill-health restricts all our abilities to get together, especially when you live miles away, & this particular friend lives over in Harrogate.
In the garden
The Fox is thinking of having another go at veg growing this year. We've just ordered some more raised beds. Then we'll get some extra compost to fill them. We're also thinking of looking for some seed potatoes now, while there's still plenty of choice. However, we're not thinking of planting much as we don't want things to go amiss while we're away. For all that it's becoming incredibly sunny & warm at the moment, it doesn't alter the fact we fear frost isn't far away at night. It's also been surprisingly dry & there will be no-one around to water any new plants at an important stage of their development.
Meanwhile I'm hoping to tidy up the herb garden & get the new plants I bought this week in the ground. The herbs that have been sitting on the kitchen window sill through the winter are being harden off a bit so they, too, will go in the ground soon.
That just leaves Basil Bush. He seems to be particularly tender so I'm leaving him inside a bit longer before I harden him off. I'm hoping to get him out just before we go away. He's not likely to survive a fortnight inside without attention. I'll just have to hope it isn't too cold when we're away.
I've also got some nasturtium & marigold seeds to plant in the herb garden to provide a bit of extra colour. I may put some in a planter on the wall to brighten up the patio area a bit. I'll have to see how far the seeds stretch. Again I'm hoping to do that just before we go away in the hope the first green shoots will be appearing when we come home.
The busy season in the garden is upon us.
Meanwhile I'm hoping to tidy up the herb garden & get the new plants I bought this week in the ground. The herbs that have been sitting on the kitchen window sill through the winter are being harden off a bit so they, too, will go in the ground soon.
That just leaves Basil Bush. He seems to be particularly tender so I'm leaving him inside a bit longer before I harden him off. I'm hoping to get him out just before we go away. He's not likely to survive a fortnight inside without attention. I'll just have to hope it isn't too cold when we're away.
I've also got some nasturtium & marigold seeds to plant in the herb garden to provide a bit of extra colour. I may put some in a planter on the wall to brighten up the patio area a bit. I'll have to see how far the seeds stretch. Again I'm hoping to do that just before we go away in the hope the first green shoots will be appearing when we come home.
The busy season in the garden is upon us.
Saturday, 24 March 2012
A change of plan
One thing's for certain. Today's rabbit is wild. I seem to have had to dig so many hard metal pellets out of it, it was clearly shot. At the moment the jointed rabbit is marinading in some red wine along with various other herbs & flavourings, ready to be cooked this afternoon.
On Thursday, for some reason the Farmers' Market, wasn't on. We turned up to find the church hall where it is held was all locked up & no sign of why. Have they changed the day? Have they stopped having Farmers' Markets in Morecambe? Have they relocated the market elsewhere in Morecambe? No indication was given. We'll just have to keep our eyes open for the next lot of ads, if there are any.
As we were on the road bright & early, we decided to make it the day to go down to the garden centre at Barton Grange. It's the first time we've ever been. It's not far from Preston so quite a distance from home for us. It's an absolutely enormous place with a farm shop (a sort of permanent farmer's market), cook shop, gift shop, restaurant, cafe, acres of plants. We spent quite a while there, strolling around. We didn't buy much but were amazed by all there was to see. At one point we stopped for a sit down & a spot of lunch. The side salads accompanying our sandwiches were awash with flavour, which gave us some encouragement to think that the fresh veg for sale in the farm shop , although pricey, was probably good quality. We indulged in that childhood delight, dandelion & burdock, for a drink. In the end tiredness began to overwhelm us, & anyhow we wanted to be back, through Lancaster before the main Lancaster rush hour traffic ground to a virtual halt, as happens every day.
We were both pretty well pooped. It's not often we both end tucked up in bed by 8pm. Although the Fox found the day tiring, and he was finding his leg dragging by the end, nonetheless, next day he was back to normal again. He's obviously coped well with the trip - a fact that augurs well for our holiday next month. To discover that was one of the main reasons for our trip.
Would we go to Barton Grange again? I'm not sure. It seems a long way to go when so many of the things we could have bought more locally or on line. They was certainly plenty to see so maybe we will venture again some time but it won't be very often.It was lovely to see the banks of golden daffodils along the roadside as we went. It was also lovely to have a mild sunny day to go & that seems to have continued ever since. Has summer jumped through spring to arrive with the changing of the clocks tonight? I wonder. I don't entirely trust it to last.
On Thursday, for some reason the Farmers' Market, wasn't on. We turned up to find the church hall where it is held was all locked up & no sign of why. Have they changed the day? Have they stopped having Farmers' Markets in Morecambe? Have they relocated the market elsewhere in Morecambe? No indication was given. We'll just have to keep our eyes open for the next lot of ads, if there are any.
As we were on the road bright & early, we decided to make it the day to go down to the garden centre at Barton Grange. It's the first time we've ever been. It's not far from Preston so quite a distance from home for us. It's an absolutely enormous place with a farm shop (a sort of permanent farmer's market), cook shop, gift shop, restaurant, cafe, acres of plants. We spent quite a while there, strolling around. We didn't buy much but were amazed by all there was to see. At one point we stopped for a sit down & a spot of lunch. The side salads accompanying our sandwiches were awash with flavour, which gave us some encouragement to think that the fresh veg for sale in the farm shop , although pricey, was probably good quality. We indulged in that childhood delight, dandelion & burdock, for a drink. In the end tiredness began to overwhelm us, & anyhow we wanted to be back, through Lancaster before the main Lancaster rush hour traffic ground to a virtual halt, as happens every day.
We were both pretty well pooped. It's not often we both end tucked up in bed by 8pm. Although the Fox found the day tiring, and he was finding his leg dragging by the end, nonetheless, next day he was back to normal again. He's obviously coped well with the trip - a fact that augurs well for our holiday next month. To discover that was one of the main reasons for our trip.
Would we go to Barton Grange again? I'm not sure. It seems a long way to go when so many of the things we could have bought more locally or on line. They was certainly plenty to see so maybe we will venture again some time but it won't be very often.It was lovely to see the banks of golden daffodils along the roadside as we went. It was also lovely to have a mild sunny day to go & that seems to have continued ever since. Has summer jumped through spring to arrive with the changing of the clocks tonight? I wonder. I don't entirely trust it to last.
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