Woohoo! We have an allotment. Or very nearly. We take over a half-plot on October 01. We have a key and have signed the paperwork.
It’s a good-looking plot with a small potting shed and a little lock-up. And if you could jump high enough, you’d be able to see into our garden from it.
So, more digging ahoy. Though it shouldn’t be too bad: it’s weedy, but it’s been worked this year.
That’s what I’ve got — and loads of them. There must be a dozen cucumbers approaching ripeness on the two plants that Lola was given by the woman at the allotments. And then there are the six lemon cucumber plants that I grew from seed: they are flowering now and should start fruiting soon. Doubtless, in fact, they will do so while we are down in Somerset next week (funny how Lola and Neve end up having “Grandma in Somerset” and just like Tom and I did).
Holidays present as somewhat more problematic now that one is a keen vegetable gardener. While we are gone, the tomatoes, peppers, french beans, cucumbers, and lettuce will all be cropping, and the rest may need watering and weeding. Tricky business.
A good weekend, despite the blustery-rainyness of it all and the lack of actually getting out on that bike ride up the Cam. Saturday was Teo’s birthday party and Isa spent the morning embroidering a bag for him while Lola and I played rhyming snap and fed the tomatoes. Then made some nice falafel lunch, wrapped pressies and drove to Teo’s house (warnings of rain having caused picnic plans to be abandoned). Lots of fun had there, and then home to prime bathroom woodwork, eat, collapse.
Sunday spent largely outside prepping and then priming the new tallboy we bought which is destined to be Neve’s wardrobe. Isa made yummy pasta fagioli (except without the pasta) for dinner. Lunch was grilled polenta topped with cheese and tomato. Second coat of paint to bathroom wood. Neve snotty and not sleeping easily. We knackered. This post very mundane.
And in odd moments, I also upgraded this (WordPress) blog software to the latest version. Hurrah.
Et bon nuit.
In the meteorological sense, that is: it started to rain as I stepped out this morning. Neve and Lola remain as delightful as ever. Though Isa may not be agreeing at present as Neve woke at 06:00 this morning and would not be cajoled back to sleep. And, by the time I left at 06:40, Lola was also awake (Neve having kindly taken her her rice milk. It’s going to be a long day…
Neve can now say, “Mama,” and “Dada,” and “Lola” — the latter in her own special way which I am unable to transliterate. She also, like Lola before her, like to do “Cheers!” (“chszz”) with her beaker. Seems quite civilised, you might think, until you see her grabbing fistfuls of
cottage pie and smearing the contents in and around her mouth.
Hearing her shout for her food is quite something. If the food is not ready when she expects it — say you put her in her chair and then go to dish out her food — she’ll be shouting Mama or YumYum and jumping up and down making excited noises. Much delay and she’ll be crying, shouting. During a meal, every time something new is brought to the table she’ll be pointing excitedly, wanting to try. If it’s something she knows she likes, the excitement is intense. When she finishes and wants more, she’ll hold out her empty bowl: “yum-yum, yum-yum!”
Today is the first time in over six weeks that I’ve felt the need to put more than a t-shirt on when going out. Poop 🙁