Quick daily posts

[poppy]

DH has still the jacket, that he wore when we use to meet at Liverpool Street station 40 years ago!

[Serinde]

Yes Mabel, my clothes are worn until they fray. I wept for hours when my favourite cream jeans suddenly ripped! I had reinforced the lower hem several times at they had frayed. Those jeans were 16 years old!!

You mean... you mean you can (gulp) still fit into jeans you bought 16 years ago?? Wow.

[wendywombat]

Yes Mabel, my clothes are worn until they fray. I wept for hours when my favourite cream jeans suddenly ripped! I had reinforced the lower hem several times at they had frayed. Those jeans were 16 years old!!

You mean... you mean you can (gulp) still fit into jeans you bought 16 years ago?? Wow.

Well it was a bit of a Squeeze ...which is probably why they ripped!!

[Mabel Figworthy]

The skirts from 1985 that I still wear were a bit on the wide side around the waist when I first had them (I could never find skirts or trousers that fitted my waist), so they just about still fit. When I was 15 I needed one of those wide elastic belts to keep them up, and now, well, let's just say I don't

[rcperryls]

I'm not sure what the oldest item of clothing I still have and wear, but I would guess it is a very faded sweat shirt that I got in the way back machine when I went back to business school as a full time (vs part time) student. Since I graduated in 1984. The business school's "mascot" was/is Tony the tiger from the Kellogg Frosted Flakes Cereal Commercials (since the school changed its name to Kellogg in exchange for an exceptionally generous donation from the Kellogg family years ago). The image of Tony is very very faded but still visible. I imagine that it has worn so well because I have been able to wear it on and off for years because it fits then doesn't fit then fits then doesn't fit. Similar to my clothes which cover at least 5 sizes . One reason I have a fairly large wardrobe even though it seems like I donate the larger sizes when I fit into the smaller ones, but I guess I always keep some around "just in case"

Carole

[wendywombat]

One reason I have a fairly large wardrobe even though it seems like I donate the larger sizes when I fit into the smaller ones, but I guess I always keep some around "just in case"

Carole

I know that feeling!!

[richardandtracy]

I confess that in our bedroom my 'wardrobe' is the bit behind one door of the wardrobes. And half of it is not clothes, it's the boxes for my collection of fountain pens and other stuff like unmade model train kits, pens for sale and other craft fair and cross stitch paraphernalia. The other 4 doors of the wardrobes, 4 shelves to one side, 20-30 hangers on front of the wardrobe doors, half the airing cupboard and the heap over the banister rail on the landing are Tracy's clothes.

Tracy never has anything to wear, while I have no problems finding something to wear. I do wonder if Tracy is actually suffering a paralysis of choice. While I, having so little choice, have no problems. If so.. I would love to clear the place out. Think I would have to get a hearing aide first, so I could turn it off. Things would get noisy.

Regards,

Richard.

[Serinde]

Lots accomplished yesterday in the garden. New step (with non-slip tracking) has replaced rotten one in front of our biggest cold frame (a former shower cubicle -- go ahead, ask me); new compost bins configured from old shipping pallets (a job and a half for DH) and we harvested the garlic yesterday, and the drying process is starting. Still tons of work to do. And I have more strawberries than I quite know what to do with. I'm sure you'll agree that is a truly awful problem to have, eh?

[richardandtracy]

I have suffered from a glut of Strawberries, and as a result don't like them as much as I should.

In 1970 we were living in Wales, my brother was born in the February & he had difficult early months. He screamed almost all day long for no apparent reason, and eventually he & my mum went to stay with my aunt to avoid my mum having a breakdown. My aunt had a big enough house that it was possible to put him in a room to scream until he stopped without driving anyone to distraction. He screamed if he was awake & not eating. The doctors all pronounced him healthy, but still he screamed. I think there has been a painful bowel disorder in babies recognised since then and it spontaneously gets better, which is similar to what he seems to have had.

While this happened our large strawberry bed came to fruit. With just my dad & I to eat them. We had no freezer at the time & it never occurred to us to make jam out of them (I was 6, & my dad still doesn't really know what a kitchen is). So we had to cope with a glut of fresh strawberries. 20lb went to neighbours, but the other 20lb we ate in a week. We had them for breakfast, lunch, tea and supper. After a week neither of us could face another strawberry and the remainder of the crop rotted in the garden. Since then, I have not had many strawberries and don't enjoy them as much as I should, or as much as I want to.

Regards,

Richard.

[wendywombat]

I'm allergic to Strawberries!
Several years ago I was stung by several large wasps! I've always been allergic to penicillin and my mum was allergic to wasps,
Now i seem to react to all sorts of things.

I buy them for D/H but i have always preferred Raspberries!

@Serinde: "our biggest cold frame (a former shower cubicle -- go ahead, ask me)"

Go on..I'm asking!!

But first I have to say that we have a Solar Shower here....without a cubicle as it's in the garden sheltered by the Bay Tree. Very useful after a gardening pr DIY session but mainly it's for rinsing off Before going into the pool. D/H can often be seen with a blob of shampoo on his head after gardening. It get very hot as it's a black tubular shower filled with water attached to the water supply with a mixer tap so it doesn't cook the Showeree!

[Serinde]

Ooft, that's more strawberries than I have for sure, Richard. Not enough to bother making jam, but too many to just eat. And they are relatively precious, so while I'll give any amount of kale away... the strawberries and blueberries I'm a bit jealous of, if you see what I mean. But I now have a cheesecake recipe that should take care of about 400g of them. It's a start.

Behold "The Shower" with its new step; the side panels (originally the top and bottom) are made of overlapping wood. The bottom (formerly a side) is on the ground which is covered with a weed suppressing membrane (or so they say...). The top is originally the door, so opens an shuts on its hinges. Currently full of peppers, chillies and a huge cucumber:

[richardandtracy]

Somebody's been taking lessons from the Radio 4 gardener Bob Flowerdew. Do you have any dead freezers anywhere in the garden too, by any chance?

Nice bit of recycling though. Great idea.

Regards,

Richard

[Mabel Figworthy]

Nice bit of recycling though. Great idea.

Hear hear!

[Podolyanka]

Can anybody, please, explain to me why in the middle of summer one needs a "glass house"? Couldn't the cucumber and peppers live in the open ground like in good old times?

[Serinde]

I know what you mean. When I first came to Scotland, I was flabbergasted to see Sweet Corn in a greenhouse. At home there were entire fields filled with it. But here in Scotland it's different. At 56N and a cool maritime environment, when 18-20C is considered hot, these poor plants expecting a warmer climate try hard, but can’t quite produce fruits. Even tomatoes are under cover. In the Shower, I can keep the daytime temperature in the upper 20s (sometimes higher) and they enjoy the humidity, too. The tomatoes in the greenhouse need more ventilation. Lyudmila, I'm sure you know how fortunate you are to live in one of the most fertile stretches of deep black soil on the planet and are blessed with a continental climate to boot. You are so lucky to be able to grow these things outside where they belong. I don’t miss much from my life in the US, but I’d give (as they say) my eyeteeth for a garden full of rich, black Illinois soil. We wrestled with our thin, sour stony soil that sits on clay for about a decade but now, it’s lovely and crumbly. And productive.

[richardandtracy]

Lyudmila,

The UK is kept cooler during summer and kept warmer in winter by the Atlantic Ocean than somewhere surrounded by hundreds of miles of land. It means our summers are cool & wet, and our winters are not much cooler and quite a lot wetter. The net result is that a lot of vegetables struggle to grow, especially those that need warmth and just the right amount of rain. It is odd to say, but summer temperatures in central Alaska are actually warmer than most of the UK (OK, the summer is very short compared to ours) and astonishingly enough it's easier to grow cucumbers there than out in the open in the UK.

One oddity I came across when travelling in Alaska was 36lb (15kg) cabbages. The long hours of daylight and warm temperatures allow HUGE cabbages to grow. I think the record is over 60lb (27kg).

Edited to add. It appears the record is nowhere near 60lb for the biggest ever cabbage.
it's 138.6 lb (62.8 kg) https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/wo ... st-cabbage

Regards,

Richard

[wendywombat]

We can grow vegetables outside here in SW France....but!
From June to end of August we generally have a water ban. We are not allowed to water our gardens so I grow nothing. You have to have an agricultural permit to water. crops. So I support the local growers at the market.
Yesterday we had a viewing on our house. They want to grow vegetables in the same way as they do in the UK.
I didn't tell them about the water ban or that we are on a limestone ridge an only grow rocks and weeds! It's up to the agent to inform them of that.

[richardandtracy]

Sometimes you need to hold your tongue. Can be hard not to be completely open on occasions.
Hope the viewing went well, though.

Regards,

Richard.

[wendywombat]

I didn't mention the deer and hare which munch trees and flowers nor the wild pigs (sanglier) who dig up almost every thing as well as trashing fencing.
All part of life's rich pattern which comes of living here.

[poppy]

I didn't mention the deer and hare which munch trees and flowers nor the wild pigs (sanglier) who dig up almost every thing as well as trashing fencing.
All part of life's rich pattern which comes of living here.

You are just being economical with the truth, that is all, Wendy! It is a lovely place to live in anyway.

The UK is kept cooler during summer and kept warmer in winter by the Atlantic Ocean than somewhere surrounded by hundreds of miles of land. It means our summers are cool & wet, and our winters are not much cooler and quite a lot wetter.

Ah, that is why! I always wondered why the UK is so wet.
I must admit that it took me a while to be comfortable with the idea of living on an island.... no escape!