Vegetables! And flowers!

Partner, who is President of Grocery Shopping in our house, is under orders from the Supreme Dictator of Gardening (that would be me) not to buy any more vegetables, indefinitely. Our first crop was (not counting our 12 spears of asparagus) arugula, followed closely by rainbow chard. Now carrots emerge as the front-runners, with cabbage, beans, and zuccini close behind. I love this time of year; my taste buds (and bank account!) love it too.

This year also is fantastic for flowers, especially cut flowers. I adore picking my own bouquets; two years ago I set myself a goal of picking a new bouquet of my own flowers once a week for the whole summer. I managed to succeed for the most part. I don't think I'd be too ambitious setting myself the same goal this summer.

I started saving eggshells this winter/spring to crush and put around slug-vulnerable plants. Then I stopped because I thought they weren't having an effect. Partner pointed out the one cabbage which had eggshells surrounding it looked at least half as holey as the non-shelled ones a month later, so we began saving again. In fact, I've been collecting them from work--we use a lot of eggs at work--and I hope to see less damage in the coming months.

Undaunted by the ground resistance however, are the new caterpillar attacks. I think I need some sort of anti-aircraft defenses to keep these at bay. As it stands, my gardening gloves once again turn green and slimy with each day's encounters (ewww).

The sling, ex-stroller, de-stereotyping

Here's the best self-portrait I could manage of my new sling, taken in our spacious bathroom. Franklin likes riding both in front and on my back. On my front gives me more back support, but on my back leaves my hands free. So I'm not sure which I prefer, either.

Our stroller was damaged beyond repair during our stay in Belgium. Luckily I'd brought said sling, or our journey home might have been a lot more difficult. As it was, I had to mail a 4kg package of my own things to our house, and I left pretty much all of Franklin's clothing behind (of my own clothing I only had two shirts and some underwear and socks). The heaviest thing on the jounrney was the food bag which got lighter and lighter during the day, though by about 8pm I was wishing it was still heavy! We left Oostende at about 12pm and got to my inlaws' house in London at about 10pm. Long trip, especially with a baby on my front, a backpack on my back, and a bag on my arm.

I managed to have something like a conversation in French while waiting for our train in Lille. We sat down next to another mother with an older baby and after conveying the second of two sentences I know in French: "I do not speak French" (the first is "do you speak English?"), we proceeded to discuss our children. We told each other how old ours were, she admired Franklin's walking, I admired her child's crawling; I asked his name--not sure if it was a French name or a Muslim name, but phoenetically it sounded like Yunis--and also asked if he slept well (apparently not).

I believe it is the stereotype that the French are rude and xenophobic. Partner says that's more confined to Parisians, and I've never been to Paris so I couldn't say. However, all the French people I dealt with on our holiday were very friendly and helpful. I didn't meet anyone rude or have any bad experiences; I think people are the same everywhere, really. I'm glad I was able to do this trip on my own and broaden my horizons a bit.

Holiday in Europe

This week I accomplished a super-mama feat: I traveled to a different country with a 15-month-old and no one else. Franklin and I (Partner stayed home and worked) took a train to Lille, France, then another train to Kortrijk, Belgium, and then a third train to Oostende, Belgium, where we met up with my father for four days of vacation.

Believe me, it's not easy taking an active toddler and his stroller across three different countries: for one thing, all of the trains had at least two or three steps to climb in order to board. I had to ask for help getting the stroller up each one: "excusez-moi" followed by a lot of pointing and gesturing. It was even worse in Dutch-speaking Belgium: even though Dutch is similar to English, and I can get the gist of the meaning if I listen hard to it, I don't know any words except thank you: "dank u." At least in French I know some basic phrases and words. Every person I approached with "Bonjour. Parlez-vous anglais?" replied with the affirmative. In fact, the only person I didn't say that to and just used my labored French upon, at the ticket office at the Lille rail station, immediately started speaking to me in English anyway--I guess I offended her ears with my appalling accent!

Though I did not know much about Belgium before actually visiting there (the first time 3 years ago, again to meet my father), I think it's a lovely country. Some of my impressions of Oostende, which is on the sea:

• It's full of old people. It reminded me of Victorian novels when the aged were prescribed "sea air" by doctors to make them live longer. I saw a lot of wheelchairs pushed about.
• It's full of bicycles. Many ridden by elderly people.
• It's full of small dogs. As in toy-sized small dogs. I've never seen so many little yappers in one place. I even saw one old couple pushing their diminutive canine in a baby stroller.
  

The sea was wonderfully warm--if only I'd brought my swimming suit. Franklin loved it when he was fully clothed (and soaking wet; every time I tried to get the camera out, he dashed back into the waves), but thought it the worst thing ever when I took his clothes off; he didn't even want to dip his toes in. He liked walking on the warm dry sand with those tootsies, though.

Not enough time, a new sling, rose of May

Even though I'm neglecting my blog, that doesn't mean I'm neglecting my life. I'm SO busy right now; it doesn't seem real. Not only am I racing to keep (er, actually catch) up with my schoolwork, I'm also working twice my normal hours to cover for a coworker's surgery recovery. Toddler time is hectic and amazing and incredibly time-consuming. Why does it take us exactly one hour from waking up at morning to be ready to leave the house? My computer is allocated to my studies for the time being. Possibly after I take my Java exam next month, things will slow down. Or when my coworker ever returns to work (I've been covering him for more than a month now). Or when Franklin goes to college.

Franklin's outgrown the red ring sling I made; I can no longer take him on walks in it without back pain. Luckily I have a sewing machine and a spare ten minutes every afternoon while he's napping (between eating and you guessed it: studying). I sewed another type of sling for us over the course of three days and we trialled the result today. I will attempt a photo later; it's a mei tai, which has both waist and shoulder straps and his weight distributes beautifully. We took an hour-long walk this morning and my back still feels great.

More than half-way through May, and most of my rosebushes now sport blooms. Normally my first roses bloom in June. Today I planted some more beet and argula seeds; and planted out our cosmo, dahlia, and rudbeckia seedlings. Next up: nicotiana, beans, and zuccini. Zuccini is called courgette here. And arugula is called rocket. As in space. I refuse to pronounce it that way, however, and say rockette instead. Everyone has their limit, after all.

Mostly pictures

I've been trying to write this post for almost a week now. I keep getting side-tracked. So instead of wracking my already punished brain (study! assignments! study! assignments! help!), I'll give it to you in pictures; you can make up your own story.

More spring gardening, unraveling

Lilac season! I think it's early this year. When my mother visited, we trawled three different garden centers in search of a dark purple lilac, but found only white, pink, or light purple. Therefore, I got no lilac. However, today I made the most astonishing discovery. I may actually have a lilac in my garden after all. We have a little space between our garage and next door's property. It's got several elder trees growing in it, and a lilac. How can I not have seen this lilac before? I've been living here six years! In my defense, this space really is quite tiny and impossible to get to; it's almost completely blocked by our garage and the lilac is sandwiched between two very leafy elders. Now, it may actually be next door's lilac, as it's growing right on the property line. But hey, the part of it on my side is mine, right?


I'm loaded down with seedlings, both in the ground and on my windowsill. This winter I once more lost all my dahlia tubers stored in the garage; I think the extended cold got them. Again. Luckily, I have a few leftover seeds. Please survive this year, little lovelies! Of the seeds I collected last year, both the beets and chard are happy happy, but the broccoli refused to make an entrance. I wonder if it was one of those F1 hybrids, which don't produce viable seeds. I don't remember it on the package, but...

It is my dream to one day grow enough, so as not to need to buy vegetables, ever. In this climate, it's possible to have fresh garden vegetables all year round, though the selection is narrow late winter/early spring. But it would still be so cool, wouldn't it? Some, like potatoes and carrots, can be stored after harvesting, and some have a winter harvest, like parsnips, turnips, and cabbage.

I got the asparagus bed razed. I found evidence of only one (very paltry) asparagus spear in the process. Sigh.

Elsewhere in the Life of Me, I've become addicted to unravelling sweaters. The kind I buy at the charity shop, which could be an ugly style, or have a hole or stain, but still have very nice yarn. New yarn can be really expensive, especially the natural fibers like wool and cotton (pictured is some lovely 100% cotton from which I've started knitting a cardigan). And the luxury yarns like merino or cashmere I can only dream about purchasing--unless I find them in sweater form. A few weeks ago I bought a 100% cashmere sweater for £1. One. Pound. I nearly fell over when I found it. If I bought cashmere yarn new, it would probably cost about 10 times as much for about a quarter of the amount. I've not unravelled it yet. It's in my stash and I keep pulling it out to pet it: soft.

Progress in the garden, mending skills

I've planted more seeds this week, and pulled more weeds. My potatoes begin sprouting; most in the ground, though in a big black plastic planter, which must be a bit warmer than the ground, my potatoes have lovely bushy leaves. My asparagus bed needs some serious razing, but I'll do it when Franklin's asleep or with his dad--too many vulnerable seedlings close by for stomping on.

I'm so proud of my darning skills. I showed this shirt to Partner, and I'm sure you'll agree with him that the darn is completely invisible to the naked eye. The teletubby pictured was used as a darning egg--a tool to keep the darn as inconspicuous as possible. Po, being slippery plastic however, made an ineffective darning egg.

This time last year, I wanted to garden, but things like sleep, bathing, eating, and so on, got in the way. If we ever have another baby, I'm going to coordinate myself better! This year, however, my baby is very happy to help me garden; by helping I mean A) pulling out seedlings from their trays, B) picking flowers before they've actually flowered, C) finding dog poo and then playing with it and, D) insisting that he can walk on water, so let me on the pond, mama!

School...

Crunch time for schoolwork. Java class ends in one month, with a final exam in June. From then on, I plan on only studying two classes simultaneously. Three at a time, especially as the classes are progressively more advanced, kills me. My brain hurts.

First priority is Franklin's care, and this takes up most of my day. I find it impossible to concentrate on anything else when he is awake (try mastering probability generating functions while making sure a one-year-old is stimulated, calmed, kept to routine, and doesn't starve, pull the dog's tail, or run with scissors). My next priority is work, which slots in on weekends. That leaves schoolwork to be wedged in where possible--and it jostles for position with Partner time. At the moment, I see more of my school books than I do of Partner.

I recognize the signs of mid-year burn-out. For the Java class, as I'm nearly done, I'm trying to motor through. For the other two classes, I've got till September, and that's ages away. Ages. And after that, another round of fresh classes. Will this never end?

While keeping both eyes on Franklin, I still manage a bit of knitting. I've a cotton baby cardigan on my needles, nearly finished, though slightly wonky, seeing as I paid more attention to him than the pattern while knitting. If not too embarrassing, I'll post a picture when it's finished.

Playing outside, lacking motivation

Why is it my days are so busy, yet I never seem to accomplish much?

We've had lovely sunny spring weather, so Franklin and I have spent as much time as possible in the garden. He LOVES it out there. He loves bugs, dirt, picking flowers, walking and crawling, eating twigs, helping me weed (I hand him a weed and he drops it in the bucket for me; this method takes slightly longer than my traditional weeding technique).

I'm currently pondering ways of bringing in extra income while still remaining the primary caregiver for my son--raising Franklin is very important to me. A few non-necessary household items have been swallowed by the depths of ebay, and I think I've earned about £75 total from ten or so sales--not bad, but not a regular source of income. Other ideas I've considered (some more feasible, some less):

• Provide childcare (I think this involves paperwork and licensing and a large amount of bother)
• Work at a daycare (not quite as involved as running my own though still a lot of bother)
• Set up a housekeeping service (sounds suspiciously like starting up a business)
• Set up an ironing service (see previous)
• Set up a dog walking service (see previous previous)
• Set up an online shop, products yet to be confirmed (though technically the path of least resistance, see previous previous previous)
  

I think what I really need is some motivation. Like a cheerleader (or rear-end kicker). Technically, I could do any of the things on this list. I might struggle with one or two, seeing as I also need to find time to study, but each one could happen.

Any volunteers to be my personal motivator? I've got a bad case of the blahs.

My mother's visit

My mother, here for a two-week visit, has now returned home. Two weeks was just not enough. She came for Franklin's birthday was nearly wholly responsible for getting my house and garden into shape in preparation for the birthday party.

While here, we took my mother to Bolsover Castle, a ruin of a grand 17th century house. It sits at the top of the highest hill around, and the remaining structure is in fairly good condition, considering.

We also visited Harrogate, an old Victorian spa town. The center of town is surrounded by 200 acres of park, and this time of year the grass teems with crocus. Amazing to see. We saw a museum of one of the spas, and tried the water. Yech--sulphur. The Victorians used to bathe in it as well as drink it.

Another beautiful stop on our whirlwind tour was Brimham Rocks, an area with weird and wonderful rock formations. I hadn't planned on hiking or rock climbing that morning when I dressed, otherwise I probably wouldn't've worn a skirt and my best wool coat. I still managed to clamber about, regardless.

Not pictured, but no less enjoyable was York and its amazing cathedral; various junk shops, garden centers, outdoor markets, and cafes; and many comfortable evenings just chatting.

(Funny, but both my mother and Partner said to me before the party, "Why don't I just take the dog for the walk and get out of your way?" My response to both: "Don't you dare!")

Birthday party

Birthday party: check. What a day. I'm glad I did it, and I'm glad it's done. I made most everything myself, from the invitations to the decorations to the cakes. Nine adults and seven children (five of whom were between 13 months and 9 months) turned up, and the event lasted about an hour an a half. The birthday boy himself was a little shy to begin with, but once the other babies discovered his toys, he jumped in and showed them all how to play with them. Then once all were gone, he had a good solid nap, was up to eat dinner and have a bath, then fell straight back to sleep in bed. A success, I think. Here is Franklin (foreground) with friend Ben.





Everyone went home with another piece of cake and a balloon. I said to Partner after they'd gone, what do you want to bet all the dads are now inhaling helium and talking in chipmunk voices?

More birthday plans, broccoli, and socks

Broccoli! It's my only producing plant and it's still too small to eat.

I've resolved to have those babies and mamas over for Franklin's birthday. Invitations are made. They get distributed tomorrow. Other plans:

Decorations: I've got two banners made, and a streamer. I might change the streamer into a mobile. Balloons could be had.

Activities: well, they're babies. Maybe Partner can get his guitar out and have a little sing-song. Otherwise, it's play for them, chat for us adults.

Catering: cupcakes and tea and coffee. I can't get over how much the British love their tea. The big baby group we go to lasts for an hour and a half, and tea is offered half-way through. You should hear the sighs of relief when they pass out the mugs. Personally I think most tea tastes like really minerally water. Hot.

I've specified "no gifts please" on the invitations, because this kid has a lot of stuff. And we think a party should be about fun and cake, not about presents.

I finished knitting those pesky socks. The yarn is from a cardigan I bought at a charity shop. I wore it for a while, then decided it just wasn't me, so I unravelled some of it to knit socks. There's a lot of yarn left to unravel. Don't tell anyone, but the right one is about half an inch shorter than the left. Apparently two socks can be knitted simultaneously on a circular needle, to prevent this sort of inconvenience; I think I might try this next time.

Quick snowdrops, birthday plans

It's not all tragedy in the garden. I have this small snowdrop cluster in flower now. The one and only flower in my garden. I heard on the radio that this year's purple sprouting broccoli crop has been severely affected by the harsh winter--mine certainly has. Of the dozen or so plants, only one has any florets (small) and the rest look a bit limp and apathetic.

Franklin's birthday is coming up in about three weeks. I'm planning a party. It may be a family-only party, but a party it will be. I've started making a few decorations. I think I will be serving cupcakes. My mother (who incidently will visit for the happy occasion) told me all about a cousin's super amazing party she threw for her one-year-old, and ever since then I've secretly wanted to invite a bunch of babies and mamas. I don't think I'm quite up to super amazing quality, but I figure I can make a few banners and cupcakes and call it good.

Nearly good as new, but bad news in the gardening front

After being under the weather for the past month, I'm now mostly back to my normal self. Just maybe not so energetic. I'm working up to it. Partner has been really fantastic, and taking care of everything. For about two weeks he was the number-one caregiver, and Franklin actually preferred his dad over his mama for two whole days (Partner left him with me for a minute or two, and as soon as he walked out the door, Franklin had hysterics)...!

Our long, cold winter--the second in a row--has done some serious damage to my garden. Witness the carnage:Those black strips are indeed roofing felt from my garage roof. And if you are thinking, well, two little pieces isn't so bad. Um. Well. See, there's about 20 little pieces scattered about, and that adds up to one really big piece of roof.
Our fence fell down (again). And that black round tub thing? No idea. I've never seen it before in my life.
Compost bin also fallen over. I can't get it upright again by myself. I'm thinking Partner needs to do it.
This is one sad yucca; yucca leaves are supposed to stand straight up. I think it may have breathed its last. See first picture above to get a real feel for how many leaves it's missing. Oh, and that fence panel behind it? Yeah.

Personally, I'm surprised there's any garden left.

Going away for a little bit

Hi, I thought I'd just post a little warning, that I'm going to be away from my blog for a little while due to medical reasons. I'm ok, so don't worry. I'm just having a little break. Franklin may still be posting in his blog (I'm not sure--maybe his dad will help him post).

I can't say for certain when I'll be back, though probably no less than a few weeks.

Too many toys, chocolate, austerity, upcoming resolutions

It's almost over. Just one more weekend of New Year's madness, and then peace and quiet.

Franklin got toys from just about every person on the planet, it seems. We're swimming in toys here. I don't like clutter, so we bought him four or five things; at this age he just wants to chew on things, or maybe bang them on the floor. Our relatives did not have such restraint. There were more presents under the tree for Franklin than for Partner and myself combined over our entire marriage, it seemed!

We spent two days at the inlaws' house in London, eating way too much chocolate and watching way too much tv. I don't even like tv, but their austerity measures meant the heating was off and only the fireplace was on. So tv it was. We watched World Championship darts. I'm not making this up: two fat old men loaded down with gold jewelry and facial hair from the 70s throwing darts at a dartboard. With slow-motion replays of them throwing, arm fat wobbling. Actually, it was kind of awesome.

Speaking of austerity measures, Partner and I have agreed to lower our monthly personal allowances by £5 each. I may put most of mine into my savings account. Also, I've made a commitment to go into town and open a bank account with a monthly direct debit for subsequent Christmases. We sort of did it for Franklin; he's got his own savings account, and we bought his presents out of it, and any left over after his birthday will go into his investments account for when he's 18--I sometimes wish my parents had done that for me. I might have gone to university after graduation, instead of waiting all these years. Of course, I wouldn't be where I am now.

So I'm looking for ways to save money and get us back out of debt. We're not too deeply in--but buying a car earlier in the year was a setback, and as I'm only working weekends, my pay has gone down drastically. Setting a monthly personal allowance has been a huge success as far as curbing spending. We have the rule that we get a set amount on payday in cash to spend on ourselves. Bank cards are only allowed for groceries and diesel. Since implementation this summer, we've saved more than a £1000. That £1.50 here and £5 there really added up, and half the time we didn't even remember what we'd spent it on. If anyone else has a good suggestion for saving, I'd love to hear about it.

I'm thinking about goals for the coming year. I had a huge list of things I wanted to accomplish last year and having a baby really put a spanner in the works! I had a spreadsheet covering each month, and the first two months (January and February) have all the goals ticked, and subsequent months have none. Not a single yearly goal accomplished from March onward...

Melt, mud, sticks, neighborly neighbors, boobs

What could be more wonderful than the sound of melting snow? This week it's filled the air with silent slushiness. As soon as we saw it going, Partner dashed outside with his shovel and dug up the last of the potatoes. He thinks there are a month's worth left. Then he tracked mud all over the house because he neglected to put on his wellies... I walked the dog and Franklin this morning, and we all got very muddy too; I however, am pro-active about mud. I got the hose and sprayed us all down. Dog included.

Partner insists we're getting more snow this week. I'm adamantly denying it.

Actually, last week Franklin and I went out walking in the sling, and I enjoyed using a makeshift walking stick to help keep us from slipping. When I prune my shrubs, I generally keep any long woody sticks to save as supports for plants which tend to flop over, like runner beans or delphiniums. So I have a stack of tall trimmed sticks in my garage, perfect for walking. Then the last day before the big melt, as we strode confidently down our street, one of the neighbors (I don't know him at all, as he lives quite a few houses away and keeps to himself) hailed me and presented me with a sanded, varnished, rubber-bottomed stick. I think he made it himself. I was really touched. I don't see him much, but next time I'm going to thank him again, and tell him how wonderful it works.

I have a feeling that even though I don't recognize the neighbors at that end of the street, they probably recognize me. I walk past their houses nearly every day; but since we live at the end of the cul-de-sac, those neighbors have no reason to walk past my house. When I first had Franklin, Partner walked the dog for the first couple of weeks, and one of those neighbors we didn't know asked him as he passed if I'd had the baby!

Here is a boob I knitted for charity. I don't know if charity actually wants them though. As I was knitting, the further along I got, the more I thought, am I just embarrassing myself? Don't adjust your screen. It really is meant to be bright red with a powder blue nipple.

Christmas. Ten days until. Still not ready. Might never be.

Weather, mega-tater, last month's goals

Snow! This is my patio (last seen under attack by nasturtiums). That cap on top of the table? Partner measured it at 18 inches.

So the roads are even more atrocious than last winter. Our little cul-de-sac has never met a snowplow, and for a few days it looked like no one was driving out till spring. Then two energetic neighbors got out their shovels, were joined by another neighbor, and then Franklin and I went out to help, and we got all our drives and part of the street cleared. One of them was even kind enough to remember that Partner and I had done it last year.

It's been so deep that I haven't gone on my daily walk all week because the stroller can't cope, and I'm too nervous about slipping to use the sling. Today, Saturday, Partner stayed home with Franklin while I took the dog out. We saw another dogwalker we see quite often, and he asked me where my baby was. I sort of experimented on making some snowshoes, but need to improve my design. I also considered designs for a baby-safe sledge, but was unable to come up with a workable plan. So for the present, my baby stays at home when I go walking. And since Partner's only home to watch him at weekends, I only walk at weekends. I think Beauty was a little stir-crazy, because we met another little doggy at the park and they wrestled and chased nearly the whole walk (normally Beauty's very dignified and gets quite short with presumptuous canines). Never mind that the snow was up to their shoulders.

I think I may have lost my chance at digging up the remainder of my potatoes. Under a foot of snow, I can only hope that means they're nicely insulated and won't freeze by the time I can get to them. If ever. Here's one of my mega-taters. I grew it myself (Partner took exception to that when I told his mother; he says he dug the holes and watered them all summer).

For last month, I only achieved some of my goals. I managed to submit both assignments on time, and then on the last day of the month, I knitted mittens for Franklin (100% wool. Merino. Organic. What can I say? It was on sale), having done the matching hat quite early on. Though I wanted to make ten Christmas cards, I ended up starting five and not finishing any; it looks like I may not be sending any this year. I finished 50% of my Christmas shopping, however; that is, if you count that I've bought all Franklin's, and haven't bought any for Partner (that's 50%, right?). And my final goal, to be in bed with the lights out at 10.30 each night: FAIL.

Snow, knitting, plans

Just a few weeks ago, walking in the local wildlife area was a crunchy delight, with wall-to-wall carpeting of crisp leaves. Now all the leaves are black and soggy, and currently under a layer of snow. Yesterday we woke to about an inch, and today we've gained another half inch or more.

It doesn't seem so long ago that we were running out of food with no access to a store (last winter). Partner was able to bring small amounts home on the train, seeing as the roads were impassable for the likes of our car, luckily. Over the past year we've increased our storage of dried and canned foods like rice, flour, milk powder, sugar, corned beef and canned salmon. We also have a bit more garden produce than last year, namely potatoes, cabbage, celeriac, and chard. Hopefully we won't be caught out like before.

I'm so ashamed of myself: I've only got Partner two things for Christmas as of yet, and if the roads stay nasty, that may just be it (this also happened last year!). I'm making him a few small things, at least. On the other hand, Franklin's gifts are mostly taken care of. I would also like to make him something; at this point I'm not sure what. Maybe a soft toy, or maybe an item of clothing, or a painting for his bedroom...

In winter plans, I want to knit myself a new scarf. Eventually. I'm about 3/4 the way through a pair of socks, and I sort of said I would knit a couple boobs for a breastfeeding support group (they use them for demonstration). I've finished one: it's bright red with a blue nipple, the only two colors of yarn I've got presently. Franklin likes it. Maybe if I don't get around to making any more, he can have it instead.

I uploaded a new video to youtube; it's of Franklin and me playing the piano:

http://www.youtube.com/user/how1she1sparkles#p/a/u/0/mifIiWeoYG0

Housekeeping for new mothers

Let me open up my bag of housekeeping/babycare tricks for you. I've got some sneaky ways of keeping tidy while keeping a baby happy.

1. The sling is your friend. Have a tiny baby who needs you ALL THE TIME? Can't be by himself for a single second? I know the feeling. Even now, at 8 months, Franklin still enjoys his sling while I do a bit of work. Apparently, babies who ride around in some sort of carrier get lots of stimulation, feel more calm and secure, and don't cry as much.
2. Stick to the basics. You've just given birth, for crying out loud! So long as you're not tripping over garbage or poisoning yourself with salmonella, a bit of dirt's not gonna hurt. The bathroom, kitchen, and main living area should be your cleaning priorities (though actual cleaning doesn't have to be one of your priorities--sleeping and eating and loving your baby are much higher on the list).
   
3. Is your tub more brown than white? Got a slime mold waving at you every time you look in the toilet? Don't worry, we've all been there. Just before hopping in the shower, give the toilet a little brush and flush--no need for chemicals if you're doing it daily. I keep a little container of baking soda on the rim of my tub and at the end of my bath/shower, I sprinkle a little onto my damp washcloth and scrub any obvious spots. The washcloth either goes straight into the laundry basket, or I use it with a little more baking soda to wipe out the sink if needed.
4. There comes a point when your baby is a little more independent. At about four months, Franklin could lie under his baby gym for 45 minutes a day, batting his toys around. This is an ideal time for some quick cleaning. I've found vacuuming with a baby in the carrier is hard work, so do it when he's awake but otherwise occupied. Use a slightly damp cloth to dust so it won't fly about and get into your baby's precious little nose. If you're anything like me, there'll be four months' worth of dust!
5. There's also the baby swing/bouncer/walker. I don't actually like these much because a baby's spine and back muscles aren't strong enough to hold their body weight for long periods of time; these can put a strain on their backs. But for short periods (the longest I ever use ours is 20 minutes a day) they can be invaluable. I have a bouncer that hangs in a doorway and it moves around the house with me.
   
6. Ignore everything else, but don't let the essentials pile up. Dishes and laundry are two things that become overwhelming very quickly. Try to do some every day. Enlist your husband in this if you can: mine washes dishes at night and I put them away in the morning; he also puts a load of laundry on every night and one of us puts it to dry in the morning. And put it away, too! I couldn't even count the number of times I've had to go searching for a clean pair of socks in the morning...
7. When your baby gets mobile, the fun really begins. Franklin loves following me around while I clean. He chases the dust mop, the vacuum, the broom...then he gets distracted and I only realize he's no longer with me when I hear a thump...WAH!

So with all these sneaky tricks, I really don't have an excuse for not keeping a spotless house, do I?

Potatoes, frost, winding down, and presentable housekeeping

This weekend, Partner and I dug up half our potato crop. I'm not sure how many, but Partner estimated about 100 potatoes. Mostly small, but several were HUGE. I mean seriously big, maybe six or eight inches in diameter. I don't know how they grew so big when most were tiny. These pictured are the usual shrimps.

I love winding down the garden at the end of the year. Well, not when it's raining: today, however, after a fierce frost (which actually hardly affected our garden at all), the sun shone and with Franklin snoring away at his mid-afternoon nap, I flung on my wellies and got digging. The street at the front of our house glittered with frost so I'm not sure how it missed our back garden, but what care I for details? It's November! It frosted! Even if it didn't kill my plants--I'm pulling them up anyway!

I dug up some gladiolas and a dahlia to overwinter (note to self: there are about a dozen more each of glads and dahlias to go), made a small dent in the Planet of the Nasturtiums, and planted a few tulip bulbs I'd divided from overcrowded stocks last spring. And planted out the last of the spring cabbages. Hooray!

I need to dig up the remainder of the potatoes; I really don't want to feed the slugs, after all. I think the celeriac ought to come up too, and any beets and carrots left. A few years ago, at the end of the season, we discovered mice eating the last of our carrots. Kind of put me off them. Oddly enough, they left our beets alone. When I was a kid I thought beets tasted like dirt. As an adult, I like them; they do still taste a bit like dirt, though.

For Thanksgiving we've invited Partner's parents to stay for the week. Having a baby has led to a sharp drop in housekeeping here, and I need to seriously organize if I want to be presentable next week when they arrive. My kitchen and living room stay moderately tidy--I clean the kitchen daily when Franklin either plays with food in his high chair or naps, and he crawls around while I tidy the living room during the day. The other rooms are more difficult at present. The only babyproofed room upstairs is his own, and with no gate at the top of the stairs: not so tidy upstairs. Better get on it, quick. A babyproofed house would be dreamy.

Speaking of babyproof: Partner caught Franklin eating dog food this weekend. No doubt it will be the first of many.

Eating leaves, this year's garden recap

This week I took my camera on our walk and had an autumn photo shoot. Franklin was very happy to decamp from his stroller and play in (i.e. eat) the leaves while I snapped pictures. I knitted him a new warm hat which I love and which he loves taking off. Sigh. I need to make him some matching mittens so it stays on his head.

Though we haven't yet had a frost, I'm expecting it any day now. This morning before work I managed to prune back my climbing rose; for several years it climbed over the old wooden arch, but with arch's demise, I'm attempting training it to climb the garage walls instead--with limited success so far. Hopefully it cooperates this coming year, as its luxurious misplaced growth nearly smothered my herb bed.

Our potato harvest is a moderate success. About half of the potatoes are still in the ground though the plants are all dead now. The biggest spuds have been about tennis ball size, though the average potato is more like apricot size: not very big. I'm not sure why. Still tasty.

And dug up our first celeriac for dinner today: super yum. I started out with 24, and somehow ended up with a grand total of 12. Also not huge, but bigger than my biggest potatoes.

Some lessons I've learned this year:

• Vegetables need space to grow big! I tried to cram in too much.
  
• Carrots grown in the ground are likely to get carrot fly (and thus ruined). Next year I will probably go back to planters for carrots. Smaller, but edible, at least.
• Runner beans should have more than one pole to keep them upright. And the more runner bean plants, the better as far as I'm concerned. Plant more next year!
• Cabbages need to be sown in greater intervals than just 2 weeks. We had way too many all at once and lost quite a lot.
• Spring broccoli should be staked while still small. Mine are all tumbling down; it happened last year, too--I should have learned my lesson then.
• Don't bother with tomatoes.
  

No friends, no money, and a little walker

I joked to Partner the other day that I was texting my "one" friend--as in the only friend I have--to confirm our lunch date yesterday. Turns out I may have no friends after all, because she canceled on me. We made the date about two weeks in advance, as the only free day for both of us, and I'd really been looking forward to it! Franklin and I went to town on our own, instead. A lovely warm, sunny day perfect for strolling around the market. I dropped off some charity items, and picked up a few little things including a little pumpkin for carving later in the week. I had a small unexpected windfall from an ebay sale, but I'm so used to not having money that I hardly know what to buy.

I had to stop and feed Franklin while in town. We sat down on a bench and I watched the people passing as he nommed. I've gotten to the point where I really don't mind breastfeeding in public at all. I usually cover him with a blanket or scarf, unless we're in a child-friendly place. I even fed him on the train into Leeds a few weeks ago. It was packed but I don't think a single person noticed.

Speaking of Franklin--brace yourself, world. He's walking. Sort of. I think they call it cruising: he pulls himself up into a standing position on the furniture, and then edges along it. Two days ago he was meant to be napping when I heard a "THUMP...WAHHH!!!" Somehow he'd managed to stand up and tear down his mobile. It's got a bunch of cute fabric bugs dangling on it; when I got in there, he was chewing on his spider.

Thinking about Christmas, and Important Milestones

What do you buy for a 9-month-old for his first Christmas? I already know he's going to be more interested in the wrapping paper and boxes than in actual presents, so I'm not planning on spending a lot of money. I also want to get him things that will grow with him; I don't see much point in buying something that will only have appeal for a few months. And I have one restriction: I do not want anything electronic that makes a noise. I know how annoying that stuff gets.

Then there's gifts for Partner. At least he's easier to buy for; I like to make things for him, too. I'm planning on sending some fancy home baked bread to Partner's family (but not mine, sadly. I don't think it'd mail internationally). I made some excellent panettone one year. Or maybe it was stollen. Anyway, it was great, and very festive. I really wish we'd picked more strawberries now, because the jam was so tasty I would have been very proud to give it away. Oh well.

My workplace is open on Christmas, but I don't know yet if they'll want me to work. I didn't work it last year, as I was just too pregnant. And the year before I was off sick with SARS/bird flu/pneumonia/TB. But I did work it one year. I don't understand why anyone would want to go out to eat on Christmas. It's such a special family day to me.

I've had the idea for this drawing a while now. When Franklin turned six months, he suddenly went from a cuddly snugglekins to a little eight-armed demon. And when I wondered to Partner why Franklin wasn't much interested in sweet things like baby porridge or fruit; his reply:

"He likes MEAT! little Franklinasaurus needs meat to keep Grrrring while he roams the house."

A dog's life

Sleep deprivation: getting only four hours of sleep at night now means I function like a zombie all day; yet when Franklin was born, I was lucky if I got two hours of sleep at a stretch. However, I think this is because sleep deprivation is cumulative, and having less-than-adequate sleep for the last seven months is really taking its toll. Actually, I wasn't getting very adequate sleep before he was born either, so make that about 16 months.

My exam this Friday means I'm starting to stress. A lot. I'm allowed to take my notes with me; for the last two weeks I've been cataloguing these notes to make sure I understand all the topics. I'm weak in a few areas, and I still only have time to study when Franklin's asleep. Which lately isn't much time at all. As a result, I'm ignoring my programming studies until the math exam is over.

I understand it's normal after giving birth, but I've been losing a LOT of hair. Handfuls. When I comb my hair, I try to collect it all and throw it away, but inevitably, not all of it makes it to the proper disposal. I've put Franklin down on the floor to play with his toys, only to find him homing in on a hairball. Not entirely sure if it's approved for the 6+ mos age range.

My latest attempt at being frugal has seen me darning socks. I have managed two darns on two of my socks, both of which are still functioning. When I told him about it, Partner said he learned how to darn from his grandmother (note: I have never witnessed Partner's darnings); I just looked at some pictures on the internet.

My apologies to Beauty, for wanting to kick her two weeks ago. And also for falling down the stairs, hurting my back so that I can't take her on walkies for a while. Sorry, dog!

I made apple butter. It was super simple (roughly chop apples, cook till pulped, strain out seeds/peels, dump in slow cooker with sugar and spices overnight, bottle). I used five pounds of apples, and finished with two small jars and two big jars of butter. It really reduced down! (but it's possible I overcooked it.) I think it tastes ok--though not as sweet as I thought it'd be.

We had a week of heavy rain, causing all near-ripe tomatoes to split, sadly. Not that there were many, but when you don't get many tomatoes in the first place, every one is precious. Now it's sunny and warmish again: hopefully we'll get some more ripened. I've read that the plants can be pulled up and hung upside down in the garage to finish ripening fruit; if we have an imminent frost, I may try.

Still, with shortening days, production has slowed down for many plants. I've stopped deadheading sweetpeas, in order to get some seeds. I plan on collecting from zinnias and runner beans too.

My first days back at work were all right. Nobody starved to death while I was away, and everyone was glad to see each other when I came home.

This week everyone at our house (minus dog) has a cold. For some of us (Partner), it's just a snotty inconvenience. For others (Franklin), it's an excuse to stop sleeping. For the rest (me), it's a chance to lose tempers and threaten to kick the dog. As of this post, the dog has not yet been kicked, though I've also come seriously close to picking up and chucking objects that get in my way (Partner's hats fallen on the floor, a basket of clean unfolded laundry, Franklin's stroller...the dog...).

Our patio has been taken over by our nasturtiums. It rather seems like my flowers have been taken over by them as well. I planted lots of flowers in what is now the nasturtium bed. As they self-seed prolifically, I need to pull them up as seedlings or they come creeping over the patio to take over the house. I'm convinced they pulled over the wheelbarrow in their pursuit of total dominion.

I've fallen short of achieving my goals for this month. In accordance with my apple butter making goal, I did score some more free apples: they're still on my counter. I haven't made any cards, and I didn't sort through my wardrobe: only my sock drawer. I blame the last minute push to get my math done. I still have an exam to revise for, but all assignments are submitted. And I start a new class this week, so my workload simply shifts to another subject.

My maternity leave officially ends next week, and I'm going back for two days before that, to get back into the swing of things. I do kind of miss work, if only to see people who don't have snot running down their chins.