Reuse, Repurpose and Repeat

Mystery bramble is now very long, might just be blackberry, but might be worth winding through the honeysuckle and laurel hedging, it’s growing in a bad planting spot so I’ll wait until I can ID to decide.

Currant bushes have been covered for a few years so I hope the aphids don’t get a hold.

There’s an odd mixture everywhere and it’s so fun to see it all appearing.

A lilac that has grown super slowly over the years.

Heartening to see green popping up.

Set up the marble edges and tossed these in en masse from trays and they’re coming around again.

Yo, Dear Reader, today was the first really nice day of the year, the greenhouse was actually warmer than outside, which tells how awful the weather has been. I’m currently taking stock and trying to see where the year will take me, things are getting more expensive and of worse quality, the climbing frames I bought after having the same type for years, snapped after a few months, so repurposing and repairs were needed, next time I just make them myself, as I have numerous time since buying these. Even the potting compost, ever confused with the compost from the bins because we just didn’t want to waste time with names that actually differentiate them I guess, Dear Reader, has gone down drastically because of a ban on peat, long story short we’re import it so we can do even more damage to the environment transporting it and ruin another county’s ecosystem. So Jack is gathering everything that can be tossed into a bag and let rot, avoiding anything that’ll spread weeds…more weeds.

Flowering currant, no fruit, but it is pretty. Grown from a cutting years ago.

Bottom pot was to narrow, now bottomless and wider, top was found now bottomless and waiting for sweetpeas. Mesh was the end piece and broom handles have been used a few times.

I have no idea what’s what these days.

Teasel heads were sprouting so I tossed them further back.

Heavenly Bamboo survived the frost!

Garlic and Winter onions are coming along nicely.

I’m seeing a lot of green popping up, buds are budding in profusion and I am once again wrestling with the narrow tall compost bin, an awful design that I keep for two reasons, one it was free, two it’s buried in so deep nothing bothers digging into it, it’s been two years without anything tapering with them despite me living next to absolute tips of gardens. It’s scooping and then emptying and filling large trugs for onions and if I can stretch it the squash pots, at least in part, then resting another bin in time for squash transplanting in April or May. I’m also eyeballing my various pots and odds and ends to see how they can be repurposed, gathering whatever I can from the skips too, including soil because I’m no fool, Dear Reader, even if others are. I won’t have much to do yet, but things are getting cleaned up, the planters that edge the border of the front garden, you may remember there are sunken planters with stones and a second planter that lifts out, have been emptied, stirred up, the soil was amended and is so rich, and are ready to be seeded again, a mix of wild and Summer seeds because they were cheap in the supermarket again. I’m just making do with what I have, Dear Reader, I wish I had the means to harvest seaweed, but I’ll use nettles and weeds and the hotbin’s output alongside the wormery’s to keep everything growing. I’ll be glad to see the bees again, Dear Reader, won’t be long now. Until later, stay safe and take care.

Something came in the sack, now it’s a composting sack, everything gets reused where it can be.

Chinese Magnolia buds are popping out all over.

Tree Baby staying strong in these trying times. Was a toilet brush holder once.

Wasps kept the laurel safe from aphids and nothing messes with honeysuckle. Gotta keep the Secret Garden secret after all.

Wild Blackberries have more contained growth than the cultivated ones right now.

Just noticed it had fallen over a bit, base had rusted through.

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Marble Madness

The snowdrops are out, might split off some again this year.

The near dead hydrangea is budding.

Logan Berry or Boysenberry, weird either way.

Both sprouting broccoli survived frosts and rain. Might see a harvest yet.

Yo, Dear Reader, I’m off doing whatever new thing pops into my head again, I’m getting a little forgetful, the days blurring into one another tend to do that, so if I start repeating myself I hope I’ll be forgiven and if not it’s not like I’ll remember anyway. I had an idea regarding the seventy litre buckets, I’ve been looking at planters and various plant holders and the general consensus is that quality has dipped and prices have risen, the buckets are now the cheapest large container at just over a tenner. I thought about a stacked set, a thirty in a seventy filled with strawberries, you can tell the berries came first, they too are in short supply, just one seller had roots available. Strawberries aren’t great yielders, Dear Reader, but I enjoy them fresh from the garden and will make the space I have work. So the question was how to situate the top bucket, I could remove the base, but that is it’s own kind of awkward and potentially wasteful, not like there’s a set way to do this, Dear Reader, and as I was kicking away the old compost bin with no bottom I had an epiphany, yeah, it was just right and it was knocking around the garden, last year it was raised planter for potatoes, not a bad idea really, but you need a set really. That came together and when I was cutting up pots, using them to mark the new strawberries in the old bed, I realised the pots could be cut to cover he handle hole and raise the soil level. Now all these pots are done and things are taking shape yet again.

I think it’s a carex, but does look like a random lump of grass. I got soil, a pot and it for free so why not try?

Bottomless combines with vertical planting.

Last year’s or the year before that, red hydrangea from a cutting.

I waited a long time. I don’t ever forget things like this.

The old holly I yanked a piece of is filling out nicely.

I was then lucky enough to get a lift up to the graveyard to go scrounging, everyone is now at it, some less scrupulous than I, I just take what’s not wanted, Dear Reader, and would you believe there were the fine stones I wanted to make the garden more easily traversable, the heavy stones there were free and plentiful, but not so pleasant on the feet as the wallet, but I had forgotten my scoop and only had a single bag. Things are working for me, Dear Reader, there in the heap was a pan left over and a burlap bag beside that. Off I went scooping and took what I could for now, I’ll be back if I can be. Then a trip to the marble dump to get what I thought was a curved cut off of brown marble that didn’t actually exist, I could’ve sworn, Dear Reader, and instead I yank up a triangle of marble that fit exactly into the edge of the front. Next up is raising a bed with marble. The stones were ideal and made it feel like solid ground walking up and down. Odd how things just go right, Dear Reader, and not like I won’t put in the effort to save something from being wasted. Things keep changing, Dear Reader, and I have no idea where they’ll end up, I hope you’ll enjoy it as much as I do. Until later, Dear Reader, stay safe and take care.

Since planted with bareroot strawberries.

Just slotted in, I added the stones just for a little more flair.

Wild rose, should flower this year and I’ll finally see it in bloom.

Loosing My Marble

A fine assortment of castaways.

Not a painted ceramic pot for a change, the heuchera was just let there, perfectly fine.

My Christmas gift card purchases fell into two categories: Too Big Plants and Heavy Things.

A huge haul and I usually win for others so I was pleased.

He was an art piece at one point, a marble base seems fitting.

Lugs is now sitting up a little.

I have new rose moulds and more masks so this is preemptive, LeChuck and Largo look better raised up too. Halfmare is now here too, he’s not great, but I made him so he stays.

Yo, Dear Reader, I have been MIA due to the fact I have had nothing worth sharing whatsoever, really, the weather is warming, but still wet. So damp that when I went outside in a hoodie I came back in damp despite there being no rain. Still I have some fun things to share. I was lucky enough to win a contest and received a prize of 100 Euros worth of bulbs, thankfully despite me planting in defrosting soil the weather has warmed since, Dear Reader, someone is looking out for Jack. Right now I’m just gathering up seeds and trying to see what needs to be done next, I’m in no rush, I would like to empty the hated narrow composter, so long buried in the soil now I wouldn’t change it. It was free, Dear Reader, I can’ say no to free. Next up is onions, well more onions, I don’t know which are onion or garlic at distance, I know it’s mostly garlic at least, so I’ll see how any pots I’ll need for the Spring planted onions and go from there.

The little gap at the end is gone, just swapped out one for a new piece.

The Pirate Skull and Three Wise Idiots get a better base than just a broken block.

Those little cut off are nice lined up as topping for granite for a bit of colour.

I was going to toss them, but instead just let my brain idle and screwed this little junk tower together.

A slightly strange measure of the pandemic has been how much plants were thrown away, when there was little to do there was a bounty of plants and kerbing, Dear Reader, nowadays it’s plastic waste, but I have a friend who helps me and seems to bring the luck with her so I always find something. We went marble hunting, another casualty of the loss of interest in renewing old graves, but you give me random pieces and I’ll make it work, Dear Reader. I had to take a photo of what I brought home versus how they were used because sometimes I forget only I know the layers of the garden so to speak. I’ll have more ornaments this year naturally, might be the strangest batch yet, and these need a clean, it’s muggy right now and nothing is getting rinsed off by the rain. Still progress is progress, Dear Reader, and the less in a landfill the better. Am I making scrounging a noble thing? Yes. I’ll be back later, Dear Reader, until then stay safe and take care.

Pink Catkins looking like little claws.

A piece under and a bigger square over and Murray gets a little raised platform. The whole back is slanted so this is always tricky.

JP, yes they all have silly names, gets a little display, he fell over but the yes held somehow, they’re just sitting in the sockets.

Turns out you can propagate a ZZ plant via cuttings.

Didn’t Go Gently Into That Good Night

Kalanchoe cuttings are flowering.

Spring Garlic, late planted but that doesn’t affect this as I’ll harvest sooner than the rest.

Found stones make a nice separator.

A friend drowned two orchids, one died, but this one came back.

In retrospect I see it, but knotweed is a plague and I won’t ever not see it. Can’t even get to it easily, but I’ll let it grow.

Snowdrops are making an appearance.

The side bulbs on the armarylsis are sprouting again.

Back Rose doesn’t rest apparently.

Climbing Hydrangea second year I think, slow yet.

Yo, Dear Reader, Jack is still here, have no fear of that, but things are at a standstill. It’s just been near constant rain and now we’re back at dangerous freezing temperatures again, dangerous because people drive when they shouldn’t more than anything else. Indoors is even slow because I haven’t been able to water much, it’s too cold at night and too damp during the day, the orchids don’t mind it though, they seem to grow on a schedule regardless of the weather. I’m currently looking into what seeds I’ll be getting this year, trying to decide how much of everything I want to grow too. I’m still eating my way through last year’s produce so I hope I’ll be able to do as well this year. The only excitement was when I went out before the big freeze, that may not even come, and spotted what I assumed was knotweed, in the wrong spot but it pays to be cautious, and was in fact a frost damaged beetroot I chucked into a bed that started to regrow. God speed, beetroot, at least one of us is doing something. Things will pick up soon, Dear Reader, then it’ll be masks and squash as it should be. I’ll be back again, later, Dear Reader, not sure when to be honest, until then stay safe and take care.

Catkins are appearing.

A giftcard purchase, this and weight plates for exercising, literally strength training to fix my bad arm and get ready to garden harder.

Amaryllis seeds are approaching a year growing.

No order, but whatever direction the sun is.

Such enjoyable plants and so sturdy.

To the left, I missed it myself for a moment.

Chinese Magnolia, the big bud is the flowering one.

Sleepless Seasons

The robin came out to sing at me and then kept jumping away when it saw the camera.

Always good to see them happy out.

No, really, these have been pruned.

Frost didn’t harm it, might grow roots yet.

Holly looking bright and cheery.

Red Carex turned green with the frost, but looks fine.

My honeysuckle, my old friend.

Yo, Dear Reader, another year has begun and I was considering doing a year’s end post and realised I just didn’t want to. I spent many, many years dreading this time of year, knowing no calls would come and the New Year would bring more waiting, 2022 was the first year I didn’t have that, things are better, not great, weight-loss hit my body like a bomb and it has never been quite the same, I’m still struggling with strange painful spasms and my left arm still needs work to see how good it can get, so I thought about why I wanted to do an end of year post, honestly, Dear Reader, I, and many others, use normalcy, or the pretense of it, as cover for what we’re going through and to avoid ruining it for others. I saw so many people trying too hard and ending up burned out and realised the world can do without me lying about things a little. Right now I’m making the best of things and still working as hard as I ever have because the weight loss was just the beginning as I have often said.

I’m not hard cutting them, I like the a little wild.

In time The Rambler will fill with green again.

Repotted the third apple tree, it wouldn’t go dormant either, not to shape them a little.

Passiflora is just so, so strange. No way should that have stayed green in the cold.

Naru’s Camelia took frost and never stopped being perfectly green.

Say what you will about wasps, but they’ll keep aphids away. Lovely and green where another year it’d be a patchy mess.

Holly cuttings are slow, but steady.

Cheery post, huh, Dear Reader? I do sincerely wish all my readers the best for the year, but I can do that year round not just one day. You’re here for one reason and I’m just going to push ahead and assume it’s see see where the garden heads in 2023. Dormancy is a long dead concept it seems, it’s been a good two or three years since the roses when dormant, long gone is the dead looking brown, even when cutting I say so many buds, Dear Reader, but over seven feet was a bit too much to leave them unpruned. We did get a beautiful day to start the year, but apparently it won’t last. The seasons are all but gone, the crows have been building their nests since December and if they’re confused then heaven help us poor gardeners. I’m just going to keep at the garden, working and reworking it and hoping for the magic that it delivers every year. I’ll be back again soon, Dear Reader, much like the weather I too am unpredictable. Until later, stay safe and take care.

Back rose doesn’t seem to want to stop at all.

Sorry for the blur, but the yellow cutting rose is doing well. Only one from the last batch of last year’s find.

Chestnut tree and blue skies.

My frame snapped and now I need to build it out of whatever I can find.

Narcissi.

Wallflowers.

Magnolia buds aplenty, just hard to capture.

Icy Artist

Everything is crusted with frost.

Some of my ornaments were used in a local exhibit.

Freezing fog.

Cold is normal and dry cold is less harmful.

I found these two again.

Really attractive, but not great for doing anything in.

Keeps refreezing at night.

Everything looks new.

Yo, Dear Reader, we’re in our first real Winter cold spell in a few years and you can well imagine I haven’t much to do in the garden, well I did go planting, half price bulbs and tubers, before it got too bad and stuffed the pots into the greenhouse, which is frozen shut right now. We’re lucky that it was dry before the cold hit, a few years ago it froze so hard while it was wet the roads were like glass and the footpaths were unusable, I bought heavy duty snow grips for my boots because you only catch me out once. It’s as dull as you can imagine, Dear Reader, I’m just prepping what I can for next year, everything is going to be going up, compost has skyrocketed thanks to new legislation that’ll do nothing for the planet the way they claim, but will hurt small growers. I did gather a few new masks, going to be months yet, Dear Reader, before I can make them, but one arrived damaged and by some chance I was given as refund and can keep the mask. Next year’s garden will be like every years a mystery to even me. For now I wait around and try not to fall anywhere, my poor bones don’t need any more done to them. I’ll see you again later, Dear Reader, until then stay safe and take care.

Probably the last rose of the year.

It is pretty.

Lots of layers needed whenever I’m out.

Neighbour’s Kalanchoe from cutting is starting to flower.

Butterflies somehow got in and flew around it. I didn’t arrange anything, just donated them for a spell.

Will be hard to imagine this when the heat returns.

We have it until Friday at least.

Naru ended up as part of the display too.

Breaking News: Winter Is Cold

This is the biggest of the 60+ roses and it just keeps trying to flower.

Lavender in flower in December feels off.

Apple trees are budding.

Azalea, a rescue.

As were these.

Honeysuckle I was worried would die way back when.

Nice and neat for now.

Yo, Dear Reader, it’s December already and we’re back to threats of cold weather as if we haven’t experienced it every single Winter ever, I’m a lot more concerned about the warm weather that is so totally out of sync with the year, but that doesn’t make catchy headlines. I’m not my best at this time of year, but this has been the least worst time in a while, I’m just not into the season, it has never been a great time as it wasn’t something wanted here in our house and overtime losing more and more connection with it, when you can’t eat anything and all food is work anyway it takes most of it away which says a lot about what the season has devolved into, but I am using the garden to get through it and though cold weather plays hell with my joints I’ll take being out in the garden over all else. I do want to say that I really wish there was a way to op out of the season, this time of year is stressful enough for people and there is no getting away from it which is sad really. All I’m doing is what I did last year and sending a couple of care packages to a nursing home. Just a simple little thing set up here, but something I’ll keep doing year to year.

Magnolia has a lot of buds, many should be the flower like ones.

This turned a darker green, more of a bluish hue normally. Whatever it is.

When the birds appear Winter is truly here.

The Holly I yanked from a mass of soil and roots.

It hid the gap at the base of the hedge and is all rescued plants.

A teeny hedge I got years ago that has changed colour suddenly.

Was more yellow before.

We had two, yes two, dry days so I decided to take down the pea frame, maybe next year will be better for peas, and then wanted to get the bed dug. Which is a little less work every year as the soil keeps improving, less rocks and much softer, almost too soft, Dear reader, as when I dug the compacted soil and stepped onto it I sunk. First is a rake and clearing, then comes the digging, then the forking, another raking to even it out and finally the hoeing. It always does me good to get it cleaned up and ready for next year, I will empty a good bit of the compost bin into the bed again even though it’s plenty rich already. I’m also thinking of leaving it uncovered for the birds to forage on throughout the Winter, especially if the weather does get suddenly colder. There’s a lot of weeding and cleaning to do yet, Dear Reader, but there’s also a lot of life to admire. For me this is what the season is all about. I’ll be back again soon, Dear Reader, until then stay safe and take care.

Don’t worry, I have roses.

The roses don’t want to stop yet. Or ever.

RTC is budding again, it must do double what the rest do.

Canna lily that shouldn’t be up.

Cherry blossom buds.

I know I saved them, I just have no idea what’s what.

What Moves The Devil?

Sadly there was a hybrid that never matured, it’s seeds would be a mix anyway so it’s lost. Interesting though.

I always check for bugs just in case, once bitten etc.

Figs in my room aren’t always lucky, but it was there three weeks and I kept saying no, until it hit clearance which means death if no one buys it. Might as well try.

Much like primroses I never buy cyclamen. They are pretty.

This is the wilder apple tree, I’ll keep it small for flowers for pollination, I have a scion I grew too out front.

Not a post without a rose I suppose.

Yo, Dear Reader, heaven help anyone coming here who hasn’t been here a while because none of these post will make much sense. The titles are even worse, but funny so I refuse to stop. I’ve been able to get some work done, right now I should be seeing dormant plants that can be repotted and instead I’m seeing plant rushing towards Spring growth so I’m just repotting as I think is safe. I have my magnolia tree budding like it’s February, daffodils that shouldn’t be out at all right now, irises popping up like it’s early Autumn and a Devil with a broken horn…that one is a slightly different issue, huh, Dear Reader? He’ll get fixed whenever it’s dry enough out, I did have an problem carrying it around, not ignoring that its stupidly heavy, because it look so, so much like my terrible neighbor, like it was taken from his face. Nearly dropped it a few times if I’m honest.

White Skull/Zombie, now Largo and LeChuck, together the masks always look funnier.

Cramped, but happy. All in repurposed measuring jugs.

I though it was pretty.

It’s very deep, but not as wide as some of the others.

Irises.

A cheap olive tree sapling, no way it’d thrive here outside.

I haven’t been keeping up with the weather because the predictions aren’t in sync with whatever the plants are doing and mostly it’s just telling me it’s wet out and yeah, this is Ireland we’re almost always damp. I decided to repot the passiflora, staying inside still as it isn’t dormant, seems to be re-growing, and there may be frost, I do keep an odd eye out on the reports, that pot was the apple tree trug, which is now in a bigger bucket, it’s final home, I have to stop eventually, it’s not a huge garden after all, and they fruited well in the smaller pot anyway, and the dogwood gets the old bucket I stuck the 3.50 Euro flower I GOT THIS YEAR, such an absurd year, Dear Reader, in. That thing flowered so much I wouldn’t believe it if I wasn’t the one growing it. The dogwood was a nub of a tossed cutting, now a well rooted small tree.

I moved Crooked Lip, doubly unique due to a fault in the mask, looks better there I think.

Lots of green that shouldn’t be there right now.

Way, way too early.

Lilac is still just growing slowly.

Ran out of bamboo, but maybe shorter is better if I need to keep it in here.

Inside s usually where my Winter focus is, there was a set of cheap orchids on sale in a supermarket, that I was so excited by I got there a week early, whoops, and I was so intent on checking on I may have startled someone, I’m huge, Dear Reader, but no bother to anyone and that’s their issue, not mine, I just want plants and I lucked out. They looked nice enough, but when I got home I saw one has a new spike coming and both have a halo of white that show better in this dim cramped, mostly due to the plants if I’m honest, Dear Reader, room. You can spend ungodly amount for the privilege of spending that or you can buy cheap, rescue free and grow your own. Things are mostly at the clean up and move stage, Dear Reader, with a robin friend scaring me and itself as is the seasonal tradition. Somehow it knows to go where I’ll be then acts surprised to see me. I’ll hope for dry days so I can get the leafblower, aka the garden vacuum, out and really clean up. I’ll be back again later, Dear Reader, until then stay safe and take care.

Foxgloves self-seeded and I just left them now I get so, so many every year.

The garlic is doing well so far, if I can I’ll get a few more pots ready for winter onions.

One more to go, the one that fruited, the smaller one, hard to see, is the rootstock the graft was killed by frost was on.

Older orchids have new spikes too.

The Firepit is looking nice, hard to imagine what it looked like now.

Fruity, Floral and Chicken Curry

The bees were still around a few days ago.

Went looking to see if it survived and found it flowering.

New raspberries, in November…

This one is yellow, it stays in, but the other new roses are staying out as they’d start re-growing in the heat and might waste energy.

Yo, Dear Reader, it remains wet and I remain irrationally annoyed despite it being the norm for this time of year. What isn’t the norm is having so much green, we’ve finally hit cold enough temperatures to kill off the mid-summer greenery, but the Autumnal verdancy is now just starting to flourish. Which is so at odds with the fact it is so damp I am still squelching through the garden even when it’s dry. I have been wanting to amend the trugs, but they’re all so saturated I can’t risk putting any major stress on my ankle that is now just healing, I think it may have been a strain or sprain, I have dealt with too much pain to not push through it, Dear Reader, just the sad fact of things, now I know to treat it when I do finally realise. So, for a while I’ll let the compost rest more and see what I can do to get outside.

Bought the pineapple sage and wineberry from a local organic farm. They stay in the greenhouse for Winter.

The roses are still budding and flowering just much slower.

Tidying up the cultivated blackberry…well, trying.

I forget I have it and am constantly surprised to see it.

On the flipside things are still growing everywhere. I was walking through the Secret Garden and spotted some new sprouts in the large daisy pot, the pot is average, but the daisies are large, I could be clearer, but then this wouldn’t be so funny, Dear Reader, I did throw daisy seeds there when they went back, but surely they wouldn’t grow so fast? Yeah, they were hard and leathery like the leaves of the original plant. There is also the spreading wild plant, maybe selfheal, mixed with the chrysanthemum, ID’d it by looking in the local supermarket it likely came from, they’re expensive to be thrown away, Dear Reader, not that I’ll complain. Of course on the walk around the garden, remember the back is a loop that brings you back out, I saw that Naru’s Camelia was perfect, the dahlias next to it were dying back because of the cold, but it is pristine. The best part is the scented plants, the lovely fruity pineapple sage, the lavender’s strong notes, various mints and then the overpowering reek of the curry plant. Which I adore.

Lucky it’s a nice daisy.

Amaryllis babies are much taller now.

Still the hardiest rose I have.

Didn’t even think they’d grow, honestly hardly thought I could pollinate it by sticking a finger in each flower.

Things are strangely in-between right now, Dear Reader, inside the Sweetheart Plant Biollante has shed all its leaves and is growing new ones slowly everywhere, it’s over six feet, but now turned back onto itself, the cutting is doing the same, but I can’t say if it’s age or weather that caused this, it is over three or so years old now, the cutting isn’t, but it maybe older as it’s still an old plant newly rooted, not sure how that works really. The baby amaryllis are now growing new leaves that are larger, hopefully forming bulbs beneath the soil, they’re just about nine or so months old. The two parent bulbs have gone through a few re-growths, biggest is dormant with two side bulbs, the one the seeds came from is just two huge leaves right now. I have orchids at various stages of growth too, they seem to be carrying on as usual mind as they always grow in Winter for some reason. A little dull here, Dear Reader, if it’d dry up I’d feel better as I could get out without getting damp from merely standing outside. I’ll be back again later, Dear Reader, until then stay safe and take care.

You can just see the new smaller leaves emerging.

The holly cutting are growing slow but steady.

So green so late in the year.

The thorns are deadly and the plant is over nine feet already, logan or boysenberry.

And Now To R…Keep Going

Skullbird gets the same grey as the cross I made for a friend.

Still bloom just less now.

Buckwheat Cakes and Pumpkin Spice Buckwheat Pumpkin Muffins

Bebop and LeChuck. You can see where Bebop’s top half came from, but is more curved.

Yo, Dear Reader, things are winding down, but staying wet and too green to do much of anything right now. I somehow managed to get the ornaments second coated and dried. This is the last batch of the year and I’m honestly glad to stop for a while, I tend to keep at thins until their finish regardless of how I feel, that’s one of the reasons I’m still here, but it can be a problem. The ornaments don’t take much time, but they do take a lot of waiting, fine in warmer weather when I’m busy elsewhere, but in the drearier months it tends to annoy me more, but in learn I can take a break whenever I feel like it and not have to stop completely is taking hold in my mind. You can tell I was the person made to hold everything together growing up, Dear Reader, because the idea of not seems alien. Much like not doing the Christmas Market this year, partly due to costs I admit, it’s nice to not be stuck to a routine or other’s expectations, however positive at times don’t mistake me. As much as we know taking a break is important it’s often harder than we admit, Dear Reader, but we can learn.

Whether new or old it’s strange to see so many wildflowers.

Lugs and Stoner, you can see where Lug’s top half came from.

Changing the angle makes them look different.

I mentioned trouble with my ankle and now I’ve managed to get it to a better place I realise I might have been running on pain and fumes for longer than I realised. A sad fact of any life altering disability/illness is you still have to be the one to do the most work in looking after yourself, not forgetting that we also may have others to be responsible for, even when you aren’t able. Thanks to compression stockings, ankle straps and a lot of joint creams and a lot of walking as much as that seems counterintuitive I’ve gotten much better and managed to restock my freezer, well stock it with baking as it’s full of fresh vegetables, fruit and juices. I mostly use the waffle iron these days as I found a ratio of brown rice and teff flours really makes crispy waffles and the mental boost of fresh “bread” is beneficial. I’ll add it below, it’s going to depend on your waffle iron, but even with softer rice flower I found it consistent. So next up I pop the ornaments around, I have more masks stashed away for next year, have no fear there, Dear Reader, I’m not done, and just hope things die back and dry up enough to clean up. I’ll be back again later, Dear Reader, until then stay safe and take care.

Two skulls because I made far too much and had to think fast. The skull…thingy looks better painted. The pink skull is JP, but the other two need names.

They’re all a little sodden right now.

The mint looks so nice there now there isn’t much here.

(The waffles are basic, but if you can get it to fill the plates without leaking it really is a pleasant, if a little time consuming, way to have something fresh and crisp. I use a large egg, they call them Jumbo here, but they’re the largest of the large size, I use that as it fills the iron when mixed with the flour, again important to point out your mileage may vary and not make this into a “hack”, anyone can make it work it just may take adjusting, The I use 85g Brown Rice Flour and 35g Teff, aiming for no more than say 95 of brown rice if you feel it needs more than the teff, but also not too much teff either as it can be too dry, not that these aren’t dry, most GF baking is, but the crunch is where it shines, about a teaspoon, maybe two, of sugar to get some colour to them, seems to be the vital part, add about a tablespoon of olive oil to that, too much makes them soggy not crispy, but doesn’t make them sweet, a teaspoon of baking soda and enough milk to make a pourable batter, not runny, but not too thick it can’t spread. And off you go.)