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.

Picking, slinging, apples

Despite my best effort to quell the caterpillar uprising, there were still casualties. My patio is littered with little green bodies, yet new damage appears daily on my cabbage seedlings. Not to mention my broccoli; luckily that's well-established enough to withstand it.

My garden duties at the moment consist of picking runner beans by the handful, picking spent sweet peas, and picking caterpillars off various vegetables.

While I've loved Franklin's baby carrier, he's just getting too heavy for me in it. Its designed so that most of the baby's weight is carried on the shoulders like a backpack. Well, Franklin hasn't been weighed in ages but I would venture to say he's around 15 pounds, and that means my back is killing me! I've been experimenting with a wrap sling I made*, and though I need practice tying it, it's a lot easier on my back. Wearing it, most of his weight is on my hip and waist and only a little on my shoulder.

*Literally I just tore a big piece off an old sheet; if you could examine it close up, you'd see dangling strings--maybe I should hem it or something

He rode in his new wrap on our walk today and actually fell asleep in it. He's cuddled asleep on my lap right now because I can't work out how to get it off without waking him.

At the last moment I decided to make apple jelly instead of apple butter. It's a beautiful deep clear red and we had some with our roast pork. If I can score more apples I will make butter.

Jelly fail and butter win, with a dearth of blogtime

I picked loads and loads of wild rosehips, got covered in scratches and thorns, kept picking up earwigs (yucky!), nearly lost the dog, and all I got to show for it was one measly glass of rosehip juice. I felt this was not worth making into jelly, so I've given up on that particular dream. The sugarless juice was kind of tomatoey tasting, by the way. I didn't really feel like drinking it, though I'm sure it would have been wonderful jelly. Had there only been more of it.

But.

The three of us plus doggy drove to London to see the inlaws this weekend, and I brought a jar of lovingly made strawberry jam and a lovingly grown cabbage in order to inveigle some of their apples. Only my plans were set awry by my sister-in-law who I'm told stripped the tree a week ago. Sigh.

But.

On the drive home, we stopped at a rest area to feed the baby and let the dog pee. While walking in the doggy area we saw some beautiful rosy ripe apples, with no one to catch us scrumping* some. I couldn't say for certain how many we picked, but I would venture several pounds. My apple butter is again full speed ahead!

*scrumping: purloining apples

I'm having a tough time keeping on top of regular posting at the moment because Franklin is mobile. Last week I put him down to play in his baby gym, sat down on the bed next to it to read, and five minutes later heard a thumping. I leaned over to see Franklin two feet away from his gym, chewing on the door. My free time is now limited to naptime and bedtime, and sadly, housework, bathing, eating, and sleeping are higher on my priority list than blogging. Sorry.

Caterpillar destruction and jam

Last month's blackfly infestation disappeared as just quickly as it appeared, no doubt partially due to the timely arrival of the Red and Black Brigade, pictured. Would that were the case with the caterpillars. Many many broccoli-destroyers still hunt, despite my efforts to turn them into little green smears. It doesn't help that they are bigger and obviously now baby butterflies. Nor does it help that they are full of slime: squishing them is singularly unpleasant. I can no longer rub them off: I have to pick them off individually and step on them. On the positive side, my broccoli is much more intact than last year's. Negatively, the part they love to eat the best are broccoli heads.

And my baby cabbages, safe from slugs and snails on my garden bench? Not safe from butterflies! Three times I have gone out and rubbed off eggs from nearly every single seedling. I think the butterflies who choose seedlings for their offspring are very irresponsible parents. Don't they know caterpillars need to eat for a couple of weeks before metamorphosing? They'd be lucky if my cabbages lasted a day under their progeny's onslaught.

And the scores in the Jam World Championship:

First round (July 2010):
Strawberry jam: 8 jars.
Second round (August 2010):
Blackberry jam: 8 jars.
Sloe and apple jelly: 4 jars.
Final round (TBA):
Rosehip jelly.
Apple butter.
Other preserves, possibly vegetable based.

Spring cabbage, preserves, knitting

Completely the wrong season to plant cabbage? I think not! These two trays are next year's spring cabbages, to be planted out next month. Right now they live on my patio bench, in hopes that the snails won't discover them. I've had whole trays demolished overnight--nothing but sad little green stems left, and when the leaves are gone, the seedling is doomed.

On a related note, the thrushes have been going snail-mad this summer. Our driveway, barbecue pit, and patio are covered in empty snail houses. I love that sight.

This morning while walking, I brought a basket and picked some wild plums--or possibly sloes--from the hedgerow. Franklin got bored right about the time I stripped all the reachable branches, but the dog was still going strong. I think she could have happily sniffed that tree all day. I don't quite have enough for jam, but I know of another tree in a different hedge which we can visit tomorrow. My blackberries aren't yet picked, but still on the agenda.

I borrowed a fun library book on preserving foods, and apparently there are a lot of wild "berries" which can be jam-ified. I'm particularly intrigued by rosehip jelly; I know where there are several wild rosebushes. And next time we visit the inlaws, I might nick some apples off them for apple butter. But I might not.

I'd been meaning to knit these booties for Franklin for some months now and finally got them finished. Now I want to knit more, only I have a feeling Franklin wouldn't get a lot of use out of them before he starts walking. Still, I might knit them anyway, just cause they're so darn cute.