Christmas - Where did that one go?

There's nothing better in my opinion than taking a day off in January and spending it digging in the garden in a polo shirt and pair of old jeans. So that is exactly what I have been doing today. I've been digging our little plot in our garden and adding 1 and a half years of rotted compost in the process. The area looks lovely now, it's just awaiting this years crops. I've covered the area with planks of wood that have come from an old broken bed frame so that weeds can't grow in this lovely moist area of land. Taking a look back, it looks like a mess with all that wood over it, but I know that come July this area of my garden is going to look a lot better than last year, well I certainly hope so!

The last post I made was just before Christmas when I was showcasing our homemade cross stitch cards. I said I was going to make a post with all of our other christmas activities in, but whilst digging I just remembered that I hadn't actually done that.

I posted about making our Christmas cakes in October, and I am pleased to say that they were very well received by the lucky people who found them under there tree last month. We had a fantastic day in mid-december icing the cakes and decorating them, we also had mincepies on the go so the whole house smelt superb.

Here's a small selection of the festive eatings we had this year...

Everything tasted great, which was a surprise on Christmas day when we tucked in to the cakes! It's hard to make something in advance and not know if it tastes ok until people have tried it on the day. It could have tasted awful, and we would still have handed them out unknowingly.

We also visited some nice places over Christmas including London, where the coach crashed into a lamp post on the way, and to Birmingham for the German Christmas market.

It's always nice walking down to uni when the market is on. It's full of nice smells and sounds all day long..

It was nice to see that the Bullring Bull was keeping warm on those cold nights...

Onwards to London, despite the crash, we had great fun doing a bit of Christmas shopping and visiting the zoo. We loved the Disney Store on Oxford Street and its festive theming...

Anyway, Christmas soon flew over and now it is 2012. A very happy new year to you all too, before I forget! It's going to be an exciting year this year, we are both hoping to go in to full time employment and we are going to have lots of fun outside of work along the way. I just can't wait to get back to the veg patch in the next couple of months and start doing the best bit about gardening, planting out the seedlings,plant and flowers ready for this years harvest.

This year we are going to be growing things that we enjoy eating to make sure we are making the most of our small plot. Last year we grew leeks, beetroot and turnips. Things I don't normally eat frequently enough, and in the case of Amy, things she doesn't like eating. We are going to grow those vegetables and fruits which make nice meals in themselves. Courgettes (and lots and lots of them), tomatoes, potatoes, runner beans and peppers. We'll be growing more than just that of course, but those are the things we really enjoy growing and eating, which funnily enough were the things which grew best las year.

What will you grow this year?

Martin

Santa Claus is coming....

Well, I'm definately not a professional and I'm nowhere near completing a masterpiece comprising of an idealic riverside cottage with gardens to boot. But I do like cross stitching and I can do a few basic designs.

I absolutely love receiving homemade cards, and this year Amy and I have decided we will distribute them amongst those we know who will appreciate the time and effort we have put in to creating them.

The following designs are just a sample of what we have produced. I'm not going to post a photo of all of the designs because I know some of the receipients are going to read this very blog post...

We've filled a box full of threads and designs so that is something to keep us busy in the new year when it's raining hard and we can't get in to the garden as much as we would like to.

I've got a busy day tomorrow. I have to go to university to submit my Econometrics coursework, and then I am going to do a spot of Christmas shopping so that I can finally tick Amy completly off the list. I need to get a shift on with my own wrapping too so I must buy some wrapping paper. However, saying that our bedroom has resembled Santa's workshop recently. I've been writing the cards and the labels and Amy has been wrapping the presents and tying the ribbon. It's been so much fun, I absolutely love this time of year. So after the submitting and the shopping, I then move on to socialising when I meet some work colleagues for a get together as a substitute for the lack of our Christmas party.

I've also got some things to do in the kitchen as well. I've got onions to pickle and cakes to bake.

'tis the season to be jolly...

Martin

Those winter nights..

Have you ever been in a rush in the morning only to go outside and feel your heart sink and your brain spin out of control at what is in front of you? These winter nights are really catching up with us now, and I've already had to reach for the ice scraper in the last couple of weeks.

Christmas is nearly upon us, and tomorrow is the first Sunday in advent.

Although, we haven't been posting much recently due to commitments such as University coursework, we are still living 'our good life' and it is definately good enough for us, but we are sorry we haven't been able to share it with you.

We are going to try and tell you about some of our festive happenings over the next few weeks. We are going to be visiting some of the most beautiful and fascinating Churches in Warwickshire as we look forward to our festive celebrations, and we will also be visiting many other fascinating places too. We'll try and give you a bit of an insight in to the Frankfurt market in Birmingham city centre, and we'll let you know about our trip to London on the 19th.

If that's not enough, I am looking forward to making cranberry sauce for the first time, so that will definately give me something to get excited about. I also want to show you the delicious home made Christmas cakes that we will be distributing to our nearest and dearest in a couple of weeks from now. The cakes have been maturing for 2 months now, and on the 20th we intend to ice them ready for handing out. We've been taking some advice from the lovely Nigella and there are a few different ways we are going to try and decorate them.

We've also been very crafty this year. We've abandoned the Tesco Christmas Card multipacks in favour of a needle and thread and we'll reveal the results very soon..

Before I sign off for now, I just want to show you a picture of one of these winter nights. It was taken at Ragley Hall in Arrow, Warwickshire....

We visited the Ragley sailing club at Ragley lake for it's last ever meeting. A club that Amy's grandpa has been a member of for more than half a century. It's a shame to see that they are being turned away by the estate, in favour of cash generating ventures.

Thanks for reading,

Martin

Time to say hello...

Following on from our last post a whole month has passed. We are both very busy at the moment, but I think that after reading some of the kind comments you have left over the last week it is only fair to give you a bit of an update.

After taking Barbara the cockerel back to the farm she came from, we returned with a gorgeous white pekin as her replacement. We were a bit unconventional this time in the naming process so please give a warm welcome to...

This photo was taking the day she arrived, she now has a much bigger comb and is laying at occasional intervals. Oh, her name by the way is Barbara 2, or Barbara Deux, Or Barbaratu.

It varies every morning when we go to feed her, and depending on how naughty she has been too.

The first day she arrived we filled that green tray with straw, sand, soil, leaves etc to give Margot and Mrs.Weaver something else to focus on other than Barbaratu. The fun lasted two minutes, and then they were pinning poor old babs down to the floor and jumping on her back etc.

The bullying lasted about 48 hours, but the pecking order is definately established now, and they all look so cute cuddled up together inside the eglu on these cold, dark winter nights.

I will see if I can fit a vegetable update in tomorrow or later this week.

It looks like we have a lot of catching up to do with everybody else's blogs too.

Thanks for reading!

Martin and Amy

Time to say goodbye..

So the day came, and went. Barbara the cock-a-doodle-doodling cockerel has gone back to the breeder. The breeder breeds absolutely first class and show winning birds, and she said that he was a pretty perfect example of a Light Sussex cockerel. She had mentioned that she might rehome him with friends but she seemed pretty keen on keeping him for herself.

Margot and Mrs.Weaver were a bit miffed and upset at the relocation of their boyfriend. But they seem quite content now, making gentle cooing and clucking noises.

Thanks again Barbara! Go scratch some dirt!

Martin and Amy