Neeps and leeks

The world doesn't stop just because you're sad or a person passes away. Thats the cruelty of Mother Nature and her blessing. We need to keep going, living our own rich adventure and experiencing all we can (good and bad) along the way. I will think often of Bobby and miss him. But where he here, he would be unstoppable in his enthusiasm about the allotment, especially at this time of year. He would have Shelia's head turned talking about plans and Ronnie driven mad with rebukes about his smoking (it is bad for you and I guess you would get more done down there x).

So in that spirit I return to blogging. Life goes on.

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We haven't been able to do a damn thing. Grrr! This weather is horrible and for some reason it gets worse at the weekends ~ what's that all about??!! We have things to plant, soil to prepare, picnics to eat.

Andrew has built the frame work for another cold frame but as it isn't finished I won't show you it yet and I'm not about to go out in that freezing rain and wind to take a photo of it away, even if it was finished, hahaha. He's also sorting out his seeds and writing lots of stuff in his little Moleskin book; I've said it before, he's the gardener, I am merely his apprentice.

We have instead been continuing to enjoy to fruits of our labour from last year. Leeks galore and boy are they huge. Plus we've rediscovered the joy of turnips. A good while back we harvested the lot and stored them in sand, in an old wine box and put them in the cold darkness of the storage bench. Well lo and behold if they aren't the best preserved, tasty wee firm yum veggies. 'Purple Topped Milan' ~ you just can't beat them.

November (ignore the coke bottle - it can be thirsty work this allotmenteering lark)

Last nights dinner - yum!

Bloomin' Monday - Yellow Rose and White Carnation

I feel rather bad that all those posts came up automatically after my post on the death of Bobby. I had that all set up already before the news of his passing in order to keep the blog going whilst I was away in Fermanagh. It should have stayed focused on him for the rest of the week and I am sorry to have been, not exactly disrespectful but not respectful enough.

This week I will only post these photos of some beautiful blooms; a White Carnation (to express remembrance) and a Yellow Rose ( for my earnestness).

My thanks to everyone who spoke kind words of regret and encouragement. I am pleased to say that the funeral was beautiful (personal, touching and full of love) and the fabulous St Nicholas' Church in Carrickfergus was packed to the rafters, so loved was the man and his family.

Time to rip it all out and start again.

I am cheeky ~ here are a couple of photos I took on another (unnamed) plot. They need to clear out and compost away, I tell you!! A spring clean if you will.

Well we're going to be back in a day or two and then it's straight to work. Andrew ordered 'special' seeds from the internet which hopefully will have arrived whilst we are hiding away in our cottage. Plus we have viable ones from last year and of course the Pound shops have got their claws into the hubby too and a few packets here and there are popping up (''they were a really good price and we needed them'') every now and then.

Also have you noticed that the nurseries are actually acting like proper plant suppliers again after the mess and embarassment that is Christmas in a garden center??So many rows of seeds, oh seeds after seeds after seeds..... here's Andrew drooling over 1 aisle (there were 3 like this!) and not a stuffed, animated, singing toy or smelly 'holly berry' candle in sight - bliss.

It's time to get planting those little jewels into seed trays, the ground or toilet roll inners. I saw (darn it, can't remember where) recently a beautiful photo of a little girl planting seeds in egg shells - amazing, I would never of thought of that!! I've also been looking back over the photos of the past summer - wow what a vibrant place the allotments were then.

We're growing a house!

You know you want to see it, don't you?? We got the new morgage sorted out, the valuer will be there possibly today and then we sign the contract with the builder - Eekk, poo your pants time!! But I know, I just know you have been tearing your hair out to see what all the fuss it about well........ here's the artist's impression and here is reality as of last Saturday!!!

Reality isn't quite as pretty but you can't live in a picture!!

We're getting a new house, a new house, a house, we're getting one, a house that is..ahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!

Plus ~  we also put up my bird box creations. I'm so embarassed  by them that I am not showing you a picture. I used a blunt saw, really thick boards with knots in them everywhere and I have double vision = not very good bird houses. But Andrew (sweet as he is) put them up and maybe (if birds are that picky) we'll get a resident, but I'm not holding my breath. 

Hope is a splendid thing

Okay I hated being there at my lotties last weekend, I've already admitted it. But now that I am safe and warm on my sofa with Maggie snoring aaway dreaming of biscuits and what not, I can see that there were signs of beauty and hope all around me. God, you see, this is why photography is so important to me! I am usually just in a panick or numb and it takes a while for me to really appreciate what I doing or where I am.

So I just wanted to share a few of the photos of HOPE I took. Hope lifts us up, keeps us going, it is the creator of love and joy. Embrace each little sign of it everyday if you can ~ the world isn't so scary with it by your side and in your heart.

Remember these bulbs being planted up in layers why back in November??

A forest of garlic (slight exaggeration?)

Tete a tete peeping up

Wallflowers doing well - but look at those tulips, so fat! :)

And nice big buds forming on my blueberry plants. Oh I want blueberry muffins, scones, cake with cream and strawberries, face mask?, alcohol? Everything blueberry this year - yumm.

My friend Bobby Johnston

I can't breathe, my mouth has gone dry; this isn't happening. My friend Bobby Johnston has passed away.

I, honestly can't think. Honestly I feel like this is a cruel joke. But no. Bobby is gone and I can't believe it.

I don't do eulogies, I feel that when you have met someone, shared part of their life and had them share yours, words can't express the loss and the hurt, certianly not in a blog (he was the first person at the lotties I told about my blog). I turned Bobby into my make believe Grandfather, the one I wish I had alive, sharing the allotment experience with me, having chats about nothing in particular and just smiling with eachother. I've never told anyone else that, but I did tell him, to his face. He saw me cry, he saw me laugh and he always had time for me, the real me, when I was down.

Bobby passed away on his plot.

He leaves behind a very very close knit family and a lovely wife, they will know doubt need to be at eachother sides to get through this. He also leaves behind a great many friends, a great many, as he was a great man. I am friends with Bobby's son Bill and his family and I dread even seeing them ~ if I am like this they must be, well I can't imagine how they must be.

I wrote about him here and countless other times, took photos galore but really none of that matters. My friend has died.

The Ministry of Food - a look back at rations

I had a whole other blogette ready to go for today and just managed to jump in in time to stop it being posted automatically. I just saw this and thought it was super duper interesting. All my grandparents are dead a long time now and I never got to ask the questions that I so dearly wish to ask now. I do have old ration books and coupons but they don't talk. I want to know them as people, as children, as lovers and as people my age in their life. But alas I think we all feel the same - gone too soon.

Anyway, here is a lovely black and white film about rationing in Second World War Britian.  Grow Your Own folks and Dig For Victory!!!xxxx

http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_8511000/8511309.stm

Oh how I would LOVE to own those old posters now. They are fabulous and did you notice - not a plastic bag in sight. We take things for granted don't we; well, as we grow our own we become more in tune with the hardship, the joy and the seasons. Fresh food, grown by your own fair hands - yum.

Poo, literally

Where should I start? I guess the first thing was we visited the building site on Saturday morning, we almost have a first floor - good news, eh? When I look at the workmen building away I can't help but think of those little creatures on Fraggle Rock, the Doozers, makes me giggle every time we visit.

I was at the allotment for the first time in quite a few weeks. To be brutally honest I hated every mintue of it and we didn't stay long. I felt really uncomfortable and panicky - it wasn't a 'safe place' to me at all. That's what happens when I stay away from somewhere or even someone, it's like the first ever meeting all over again. I tried to stick it out, took a sedative and went around photographing but it just wasn't working and Andrew had to take me home.

One thing that made me feel better was that the clay soil we have was still saturated so not much could be done anyway. Therefore Andrew shovelled some wheelbarrows of the new manure we had delivered on site. One of these bad boy mountains in each of the 4 fields. Lucky it's well rotted, can you imagine the stink and there are people living on the other side of that fence.

Funnily enough there were very few people about - the Rugby was on. Have to get your priorities right eh? But the quiet didn't make me feel any better. We go away for the week on Saturday so it's going to be a while before I'm back there again - I'm worried, I can't bare to feel like that on my lotties.

I'll be writing up some blogettes over the next couple of days and post dating them for the week ahead when I won't have the blessed internet at hand, so fear not - you won't miss out on anything. xxx

Bloomin' Monday - Hellebore

How's this for perfection? A gorgeous blemish free white Hellebore flower nestled in amongst the heathers at a local nursery. I think this is the 1st Hellebore flower I have met that wasn't shy whatsoever. Pity mine, at the lottie didn't make it quite as well - oops!

The dreaded Committee Meeting...

Okay, so I've left you hanging on tender hooks long enough. I know, you probably haven't been able to sleep let alone eat but now is the time to tell all.......

ALL IS WELL!!!!

According to the Hubby the meeting was surprisingly good with constructive debate, clarifications and agreements!? Yes this is the same meeting I was so worried about. Turns out we're all fine and dandy and the world is a glorious place to live. The Exordinary General Meeting has even been called off. What a fantabulous relief. There were of course details, but details didn't matter on Wednesday night once I'd seen Andrew's smiling face instead of his grumpy one after the meeting. There was also some very tasty wine so even if I had of been listening very closely indeed I couldn't tell those details, but who cares - the outcome was good!!!

Hold on, one of two items are floating into my mind ~ there is going to be a bulk order of manure and compost and the toilet is going to be moved to the middle point of the lotties, where the 4 fields meet. Wow, my brain is capable of some memory skills then! Horrah for that too.

Plus today I can see BLUE sky through these fab Velux windows, I got loads of ironing done, cleaned the kitchen, was given a bottle of my favourite perfume as a surprise gift and have finally got hold of some sewing machine thread - the time has come to use the machine for the first time! Eeek, I swear, it's been looking at me, taunting me.

Tomorrow WE ARE going to the plots come rain or shine and work SHALL be acheived and everything will be wonderful. Yea!, for the prevailance of common sense and a happy lottie full of happy people, planting happy seeds! I expect to see smiles all round and plenty of hard graft.

Allotments Rock!!!!!!!

Newton's 3rd law

Every action has an equal and opposite reaction.

I decided a few days ago when I was feeling better than I do today that 'depression and anxiety have opposites ~ love and hope. I am not giving up this fight to move forward with my life, I have love and I have hope and they have EQUAL POWER. I must remember the strength that lies within.'

I'm glad I wrote that down for myself, today is terrible and I needed a pep talk from the real Carrie. Also I have read all the comments left by you, my most loyal and supportive of readers and I thank you once more.

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So, today I feel crap but I have my blankets, my little portable radiator by my side and the sound of the rain pelting down on the Velux windows. I've decided I like these windows, this is the first house I have lived in were there are any. I love to lie here on our Ikea sofa (bargin!!) and watch the clouds go by. Though today there is just one massive cloud over N Ireland so the view is, well, white.

Tonight there is another committee meeting. I am loathed to even think about it but as Andrew is going and the minutes of the last meeting arrived yesterday and the allotment forum page is up on this laptop all the time (Andrew not me) I am finding it hard to ignore. They always seem to descend into arguments and take much longer than the alloted 2 hours. But one good thing is wine is always brought home after ~ to calm Andrew's nerves and just tickle my taste buds while I listen to the whole saga.

Oh, there is unhappiness at the plots and it isn't just about the weather. I have mentioned it before but there is an Exordinary General Meeting proposed, some people are just so fed up. I for one am staying out of it, politics in N Ireland drives me up the walls anyway, I have an allotment to get away from such crap. The forums (though I try very hard not to listen to Andrew) are full of people letting off steam and others trying to clam them down and remind them WE HAVE ALLOTMENTS and that is a good thing; it's all that matters. If we rough up the waters too much with our council we may be seen as an nuisance and god knows what would happen then. I, like many other people down there, NEED my plots. I don't just want it, it is therapy and....oh bother I'm getting annoyed again. (Go to your happy place Carrie...)

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More importantly we bought our seed potatoes yesterday. Damned if I can remember the variety, hold on til I ring Andrew......  Pentland Javlin (1st earlies) and  British Queens (2nd earlies). We aren't doing my favourite Maris Piper this year because we always seem to get horrendous blight on our main crops. Fingers crossed these do well, once we finally get to our plot to plant them and more importantly, fingers crossed they taste yummy and mash well!

x

Intricate beauty of a flower (1) ~ Persian Buttercup

The Ranunculus is by far and away my favourite flower of the moment. I just adore their abundance of tighty packed petals and the white verision is the best ever. My Hubby bought me a beautiful bunch on Saturday when I was really very ill and I thought I would share them with you. Sort of a 'Wordless Wednesday', only it's Monday and I do like to ramble on a bit. So....a Bloomin' Monday instead.

My thanks to all the lovely people who have been sending messages to help me get through this awkward and stressful time, your words have not fallen on deaf ears and if I may be so bold... I love you xx

It sounds silly but I am still having trouble reading, poor concentration, bad double vision and the shakes. My mind feels like it's on the drain/spin cycle of the washing machine. It's taken me all day to write this one tiny bloggette. So, sorry I haven't been visiting my blogging friends, fingers crossed things will get better soon.

Transplant shock

Sorry to all my fab readers (who I love loads!!!) but I am experiencing transplant shock. A very severe case of it I'm afraid. The books don't seem to apply to the the rare and unquie case of the Carrius Gaultius so I am having to fight through this unaided by professional knowledge.

Lots of rest and warm drinks, not much in the way bad weather conditions and certiainly but sadly no reading or writing for a while. I have however been  placed beside a gorgeous bunch of Persian Buttercups (I do know the latin but my brain is fried and spelling is not good at the moment) which is utterly delightful. Once things settle I can post photos of the blooms - just need to find my camera leads etc in amongst all these freakin' boxes!!!

From now on I am going to be much more sympathic to plants that I wish to move around the plot. Let me tell you!!!

Stay with me and enjoy on set of Spring - cold though it may be; I can see blue sky! Though no Lottie visits for us - first because I'm a mess; second, it's been snowing again and third, we have lots of work to do in this new place called home. xxxxxxxxxxxxx

When is the best time to transplant a Carrie??

The 'Carrius Gaultius' ( common name - Carrie) is a delicate plant and needs much pandering to and a great amount of mollycoddling. She (for this 'plant' is a girl) prefers a sunny climate but in dappled shade, plenty of water and a comfy soil; not to stoney and diffinatlely not clay - she hates wet feet. She doesn't do winter cold snaps well, they often result in a period of grumpiness and rather unattractiveness; a nice blanket goes down a treat at this point. Prone to pests and diseases she is none the less a delightful little (max height 5ft 1.5 inches) plant that can bring joy and darken a gloomy place from time to time if only you can stick out the tough times with her too.

Now, generally this 'plant' fears change and hates being uprooted. It doesn't mind a little holiday and a chance to see another aspect of the 'garden' but generally it is a homebody. So the diffficult question remains - When is the best time to move a Carrie???

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It's happening on Wednesday folks and this girl is getting a bit stressed as part of her roots are in one place and part in another. And her new home is only for 6 months so she'll be off again to another site just as she is settling in to this first move and getting used to being under someones else's cover and in their space! Oh my. Any suggestions as to how to make this transplanting process run as smoothly as possible would be greatly appreciated.

House plant anyone?

Oh golly gosh (by that read something a little a lot ruder), this time next week we'll have the hire van and be transfering our lives from this house to Mamma G's. Everything must go, including the pots in the garden, some hardwood cuttings, divisions of fav plants and the contents of the shed! Again I say golly (again use your imagination as to what I'm really saying).


So I was thinking, in our new pad we will be living in a loft conversion and thus there is loads of light and there won't be much room or indeed structural stabilty to have much furniture up there. But one thing I do want is a house plant and for this I require help. In the past I've only ever had ivy or spider plants in my house and I hate them!!! Well I love ivy, but outside for goodness sake not as a feature plant in my room. Downstairs, i.e. in Mamma's House - there are lots of christmas cacti which always seem to be in flower, maybe we should buy them a calendar? So dear friends, no ivy, spider plants or cacti; what can you suggest for a girl to have in her new home to add a little greenery and joy??


There are lovely gardens front and back including fruit and veg so I have that covered, this is just for me to admire as I work away. But I feel utterly lost in this domain, maybe I should just have some flowers bought in every now and then and have loads of photos up?? Oh I don't know...


By the way I still feel bloody awful and still haven't been anywhere near my lottie or even the garden outside the door. Stinky weather, one's mood does not help!!!! I need the spring. Off to hide under my blanket again, until next time - HUGS xx

I'm back :)

It has been brought to my attention that I have let my 5 mins of fame go to my head and really, I must get back to work. Thank you Mo for the kick up the bum that I needed, I have blogging to do!

Well, let's talk about the allotments then. Nothing is happening on the plots. The weather has put stop to things on our sweet little slices of Eden and not a thing has been achieved, apart from talking about it!! But to be fair our whole weekend there was taken up with the gutting out of Mamma G's attic room and en suite bathroom, painting it and generally working our (not so little unfortunately) bums off getting it ready for us to move into. This was Andrew's old bedroom and bathroom built as a loft conversion so there are lots of memories there and Mamma had also been using it as storage for the past while, all this equalled much work to be done. But we managed it and everywhere is painted and today the new carpet goes down! This moving house lark is very hard work and we've got to do it twice this year, hahha (manic laughter).

Anyway can't complain, it is going to look lovely and Mamma is great (Maggie adores her Granny) and I'll still be able to blog away as there is broadband at the house - yippeeee!!!!!

So apart from that and a couple of serious nervous breakdowns, I have been busy trying to relax get some sleep. 2 months, two months of about 3 hours a night and yesterday I finally slept all night and all day :)

Now to some important Lottie News; a Extraordinary General Meeting has been called for. Oh dear :(
There was a letter sent out to the assocation members and it contained another letter signed by a number of people who have called for a EGM soon; they are unhappy with the way things are being run (or not run) and feel the committee is split down the middle and thus practically useless. Which in one way is true, the committee isn't split as far as I am aware but they have very limited powers (read none) and thus it can appear that they aren't doing anything. Our council still runs the whole place and our committee is sort of a talking shop.

I do hope this goes smoothly and the meeting is a time were people can have their thoughts and concerns listened to without it descending into a row. I fear we sometimes forget how lucky we are to have allotments in the first place and I also fear that making too much of a noise will make the council think twice - I can't lose my plots ~ I'll lose the plot !!!(pun intended even though embarassingly bad).

So there we are, all updated, now I'm off for a wee decaff and a homemade gingerbread star - yum. I leave you with a seaside photo to calm the mind....

5 mins of Fame

Firstly I would like to tell you that the issue of Women's Own magazine in which I briefly feature is now on the shelves for all to see (including a cheesy photo of me). I am very much honoured and proud to have been able to spend the word of Ecotherapy and of Mind that little bit further, let us hope it touches even 1 person out there.

Secondly, during this week I have steadily gotten more and more mentally ill, resulting in a nervous breakdown and shakes and not being able to talk much or look after myself well. It has taken quite some time to type this and I am giving myself a horrid headache in doing so. Complete rest is the key and an appointment with my psychartrist in the morning. I tell you this only so you will remember that I too am suffering. I hope to share with you the bad days and the good, in that way you shall not be deceived into thinking Ecotheray is a miracle - it isn't but it DOES help.

I wish you a happy weekend and may all this heinous weather and hatred that Mother Nature is bestowing upon on Earth end soon. Keep warm my friends, keep healthy in body and mind and think of those less fortunate.

I thank you all for you rcontinuing support - you help me fight each day. Hugs xx

A winter's dusk....

The sun was already dipping far beyond the hills. Lengthy shadows permeated with the cold frosty mist lay over the freshly tended plots, still speckled with dirty snow. Here and there under the belly of the sky, heavy with clouds, you could see a few rosy streaks of sunlight, their rays highlighting the City in the distance and the sparkles of ice by your feet. The wind, laden with the smells of thawing earth, of sweet compost and the sound of pheasants and cows, cut through you like a blade of ice, chilling your very bones. The ground below your frozen toes is unyielding....it's time to go home. The allotments are sleeping.


Nothing much to report about the plots these days my friends. But I continue to grow; I as a person I feel I am growing all the time. Andrew is my soil, my light, my water and with him I grow. The seeds of love, of hope can not be stunted, will never wither if we are as one.

Happy anniversary darling x

*sorry for my lack of communication in the blogosphere - I am just so very tired*

For Ali and Doug

An Irish Blessing

May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
The rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of his hand.

May God be with you and bless you;
May you see your children's children.
May you be poor in misfortune,
Rich in blessings,
May you know nothing but happiness
From this day forward.

May the road rise to meet you
May the wind be always at your back
May the warms rays of sun fall upon your home
And may the hand of a friend always be near.


May green be the grass you walk on,
May blue be the skies above you,
May pure be the joys that surround you,
May true be the hearts that love you.

GrowVeg, how I love thee....

I really must make a point of praising the most fabulous forum ever: growveg.info. As I said, yesterday I was feeling really bad (once the Hubby came home I felt better, kisses to my Andy) but during the day I was so thankful for all my friends at grow veg. They keep me busy and helped me talk out my worries and let me into theirs too, where I was able to help in return. It's not just a gardening forum oh no, we chat about growing all sorts and share recipes, our hobbies, our holiday photos, our troubles and our happy times. I swear I have made so many really good supportive friends that I can't imagine not being a part of the family. We even do secret Santa which is so much fun and their are pub quizz style competitions in 'real time'!!

(If you have ever read my Allotmentherapy essay you'll have noticed that I thanked them for their support in writing the piece and publishing it in the first place.)

Plus Flighty joined us a few days ago which really tickled me pink!

I hope you are pleasantly surprised everyone to be thanked so openly - bear hugs xx