Sunday 13 July 2014

It's all growing over here!

I'll try to do a garden update as I'm quite please with the vegetable growing, however the weeds are growing faster than I can pull them out so parts of the garden are disappointing right now.

The few things I planted in the old bath tub haven't done so well. I usually fill this up with salad leaves but this year tried some beetroot and parsnips; they don't seem to like growing in a tub though.

 
The lettuce isn't as good as in previous years either, maybe it's the soil I used?
The tomatoes have been doing fine although they are so big now I don't think the grow bag is big enough to contain them, looks like lots of little fruits appearing though so fingers crossed
they'll survive long enough to go red.
The strawberries appear to be loving their grow bag and are covered in lush green leaves,
sadly not one single fruit though!
 
Anyway the little plot I dug for myself is doing rather better.
I had also planted some of the beetroot in here and it's grown fabulously, really huge. So with that in mind I dug another foot of garden and transplanted some of the beetroot and parsnips from the old bath tub and put them into the plot - they seem to like the move.
 
So somewhere behind the re-growing bonfire which is certainly an eyesore....

 you find some goodies!



 
The weeny carrots have been perfect for eating raw in packed lunches, and they were very tasty!
The beetroot I roasted with olive oil and sea salt, my favourite! However The Builder tells me he prefers it pickled so that's my next job, hope they don't all complain about the stinky house!
I will enjoy more roasted beetroot myself and will next time make a mental note to try not to rush off to A & E the following day after a look into the toilet! I am prone to diagnosing myself with deadly diseases and was almost on the phone to the NHS helpline before it dawned on me what beetroot can do to a body overnight!
 
The fruit trees have been enjoying the rain, we have a great harvest this year, something we haven't had for the past few summers.
plums


apricots - the first lot after a massive harvest 5 years ago
conference pears



Bramley Apples

 
But also the lawn, or should I say patch of clover and weeds! There has been no time to cut the grass for weeks, every spare moment and spare person has been needed to help The Builder - Number 1 son tried his hand at most things; I say hand - only one hand was available at anytime as the other was gripping his mobile phone. No doubt tweeting his hard work!
An un-mown meadow!
I'm moving the guinea pig run everyday in the hope that they can eat enough grass to save us mowing it - maybe I'm confusing them with a goat?
 
And talking of growing, Little Miss complained some time ago that I always have a "boys haircut", she can't remember me with long hair.
 
I have difficult to manage hair, a tendency to frizz in hot sticky weather (and see previous post for the details of this tropical weather hovering around me) It is dyed so that doesn't help the condition so short is best for me.
 
It's had many incarnations over the years

Ears not suitable for short hair!

 





 
 
But on her insistence I'm trying to grow it, into what I do not know.

Some styles were ok, some erm...not so good!

Why, when I have frizzy hair, did I think a perm and red dye was suitable for a very hot holiday?
The only consistent thing in my almost 49 years is that I struggle to make it do what I want it to - short is still the easiest I think.
 Husband suggested this morning it looked like a mop!

Is it really that bad?

Gosh I've just realised that after hardly ever posting a photo of myself I've just given you hundreds to peruse... I hope you're suitable amused!

25 comments:

  1. Your garden looks great, my tomatoes all rotted though our lettuce has done well. Your hair looked pretty good in all its changes, except for maybe one. Good luck with growing it. Mine is medium length and in the summer it stays up in a clip because it just gets hot and sticky.
    Do you think that eventually kids will be born with a mobile in their hand?

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    1. My hair is just so thick, it'll be easier when I can clip it up but that sometimes gives me a headache, short suits me best I think.

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  2. Ah yes, the beetroot situation!! Hope that you enjoy the pickling, and if not the roasting!! xx

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  3. Well done with all that cultivating, I'm in awe of anyone with green fingers as mine are decidedly un-green! And as for adding a perm to already naturally curly hair.. yep, been there, done that too...in the 80s methinks... I still ask myself why? ;-)
    Have a good week and hope that guinea pig gets the grass sorted for you!
    xx

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  4. Aaarrrgh, hair! I go from short to medium length and back again on a regular basis in a desperate effort to find something I like/can cope with. Fascinating to see the pictures and how fashions change. What you have now looks pretty good to me!

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  5. Tell him he is crazy, you do not look like a mop! You are adorable and I think you will like it longer, you can pull it up in a pony tail and get moving, easier than short hair I think. And believe me we all have some very bad perm photos. Love your garden, I think it is doing fantastic.
    Hugs,
    Meredith

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  6. You could open a small greengrocers! I have difficult to manage hair, but short does not suit me so I keep it shoulderish length. Love all your photos and why not try growing it - you can always get it cut if you don't like it.

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  7. Result on the beetroot and carrot front!
    Short hair is just so easy isn't it. You remind me of Tiffany in the photo of you in the blue cardi!
    Lisa x

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  8. Some really lovely photos of your there, and I love your hair now. Yesterday I was told I looked ridiculous (eldest son) and really terrible (middle son), so I'm an expert at ignoring family opinions. I'm a big fan of roast beetroot too. Mine seems to have failed miserably this year though, I did sow some, but none have appeared. I'm very envious of your carrots too. I have a grand total of two, and very sad little things they are too. Every time they grow a leaf, something comes along and eats it. I sowed more today. That's my answer to everything, throw in another packet of seeds! CJ xx

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    1. Boys!! Best not to ask their opinion, ever! Not sure why 've been so lucky with the carrots, they're my first attempt - I could post you some?..

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  9. I like your current hairstyle, it suits you. I am amazed by your carrots! Are they not the most difficult to grow? We never once managed. Found a Wifi hotspot and I am treating myself to a spot of blog reading. Glad I stopped by to see your garden success. So envious of your apricots. Cx

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  10. You're funny. Loving this cornucopia of old photos of you. Gosh you have such lovely cheekbones and heart shaped face you could do all the style. Lvoe the long and the pixie. I tried short for decades in all different forms and looking back I looked dreadful, my jaw was way too square and my hair never lay properly.

    Counterintuitively (so?) I found long hair easier than short as you can tie it back so easily.

    You have loads of fruit trees and veges, I love beetroot or beets as they say here, but husband hates even the smell of them, so i will eat loads while he's away seeing his parents

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  11. love the changing hairstyles images. I've got a few tomatoes showing up - hope I have last year's success 500 small tomatoes from three little plants given to the charity shop grown outside !

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  12. You really made me laugh with the beetroot story. Yes, bodies do have a habit of reminding us of what we have consumed. But I love roasted beetroot. Have you tried making beetroot chips? I like your hair now. Like you I had years of long(ish) hair in my youth, often permed (why oh why?) and then one day my Japanese hairdresser covered the mirror in her salon and with my permission - cut it all off. I have not had hair beyond my jaw line (well a bit when it needs a trim) since then. Yesterday, after being discharged from hospital, some kind friends invited us over for a barbie, (the scene of the squirrel attack in fact). I had hospital hair, flat and weird, so I tied it back like in the old days and did not like it at all. It brought back memories. I think for me shorter hair suits who I am rather than what I look like, if that makes sense.
    Happy gardening girl.
    Liz x

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  13. Your garden is looking great, it must be satisfying eating things you have growin.

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  14. I love beetroot - and yes, it can be a bit frightening the next day!! I think your hair as it is now really suits you.
    Caz xx

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  15. I think your hair looks CUTE.
    Nice job on your garden--so much about to ripen and already such a harvest! I bet you can always find SOMETHING to do in a yard so large and varied. Goats sound like a good idea...maybe we need a couple here!

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  16. Your hair is good, I say! All that fruit and veg, I'm so envious. Love through the ages photos of you. x

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  17. wow, what a pretty face!!!! And darn it, but your veg and fruit is making me so peckish and I have already had me din dins!!!!
    Your garden is glorious,

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  18. of wow.. look at all those plums and apples and pears..
    that is some fancy toddler hair.. I like the red on you.

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  19. I hate going to the hairdressers so I tend to grow my hair until I can stand it no longer and then go and have it all cut off so it's a while until I have to go again. The garden's looking great, you can't beat roasted beetroot, delish.

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  20. Jay...you are as cute as a button!
    Cheers!
    Linda :o)

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  21. It is NOT bad, and a husband... well... you know them, we are lucky if they even look up when they give us an opinion :) I think you're gorgeous!!
    Also... I pine for a garden as well, I want one but I live in an apartment, one day I will have one... one day!
    Much love,
    Tammy

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  22. You have done so well in the area of the garden you cleared. I love your new hair style and seeing so many pictures of your hair styles over the years. The firs oft picture of you reminds so much of your daughter. Sarah x

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  23. I was wondering if you ever considered changing the layout of your blog? Its very well written; I love what youve got to say. Alpha XTRM But maybe you could a little more in the way of content so people could connect with it better. Youve got an awful lot of text for only having one or two images. Maybe you could space it out better?
    Good article, I Just Love Hello Kitty BTW! http://www.nutritionguideweb.com/alpha-xtrm/

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