Early autumn at the allotment (part 1)

Our recent run of bad luck has continued over the past week: Jay's laptop has been out of commission so there's been very little by way of internet activity. My car needed an unexpected repair whilst it was in for a service. Some money (in an envelope) found its' way into the recycling bin and the recycling was taken away before anyone realised. And Noisy Dog continues to torment the neighbourhood.

So a trip to Jay's Auntie Cath's house (and allotment) provided a welcome escape. She lives in Childwall, not far from Sefton Park, in a lovely 1930s house. It has all those little Arts and Crafts-style details: wooden panelling, simple fireplaces and there's the most beautiful writing desk I've ever seen (her response: 'Get your name on it so when I pop my clogs it's all yours').

At the bottom of the garden there's a gate and on the other side is a huge area of land given over to allotments.

They're immaculately kept, with only the odd one being left unattended (Cath has her eye on a full-size plot next door but one to her half-size one).

Joe's not quite himself at the moment as he's full of a cold, but he loved discovering lots of new things in the great outdoors: giant sunflowers, apples and pears, beetroot and potatoes, beans, strawberries, a duckpond... 

Despite it being quite late in the season it was still colourful. Dahlias and gladioli everywhere. Not to mention the purple shed:

We had a lovely time. And a lovely lunch. I generally only eat Stilton and pate at Christmas but I didn't mind starting early this year.

So... we have a new computer. Coupled with the car repair, it's been an expensive few days. And we're now embarking on a Make Do and Mend autumn. I'm quite looking forward to it.

I'll share more photos with you in my next post. Apologies if some of the pictures are a little bit under-lit (it was a cloudy day with a few sunny spells) but I'll be installing Photoshop on the new PC soon. Hope you're enjoying the fruits of the new season!

Notes from the weekend

We had Joe's birthday party on Saturday. Friday was spent cleaning and tidying, then Saturday morning was a blur of baking, gazebo-building, bunting-tying and preparing lots of food (including the cake). I'd seen a picture of it in one of my books and thought, 'I'll bake that'. So I duly bought the ingredients and didn't bother to read the instructions until the day of the party... There was a bit of a faff as it involved separating egg whites and whisking and spooning in slowly and gradually etc. but it worked perfectly: the whitest, lightest sponge cake with a pink filling of blended mascarpone and raspberry jam.

Joe was keen to get at it (pictured here with his aunt, who we're visiting later this week - she has a lovely allotment to explore).

Our little house and garden did us proud. We fitted in over twenty-five people comfortably and tucked into a tasty barbecue. Most importantly Joe loved it. In fact, he was inspired to take his first steps yesterday - another milestone reached!

It's feeling very autumnal at the moment. It's been dry but very blustery and I wore my warm pyjamas last night. We'll be unearthing the heavy quilt next...

Jay's off work this week. He took Joe out this morning (to look at those rucksack/baby carrier contraptions as we're planning a blackberry-picking excursion) so I got on with some craft fair things. Mainly linocuts (like this beetroot print). I tend to make sketches in a book first then stylise and simplify them as linocutting very detailed drawings isn't something I'm going to attempt just yet.

I tend to draw from memory so my sketches aren't always botanically correct but that doesn't matter. I'll call it the artist's prerogative.

So I sat and mixed inks and printed away, listening to Radio 4. There was an interesting article on Woman's Hour about bibliotherapy. Not something I was previously aware of but very thought-provoking. That's a whole other post I suppose (although I'm actually reading my first novel since becoming a mummy - A Mysterious Affair of Style, by Gilbert Adair). 

I love September - I always think of it as my personal New Year. So much to look forward to: comfort food, warm clothes, woolly blankets, bracing walks, woodsmoke... and an invitation to pick plums from a heavily-laden tree (belonging to another aunt).

And these wonderful things.

Hope you're as excited about autumn coming as I am!

A birthday and a jaunt (Part Two)

Hmm, looks like this post published itself rather than saving as a draft... I'm back now with words to go with the (enlarged) pictures!

So yesterday we continued our little Liverpool outing with a wander around Sefton Park. It's very big with a cafe, lake and large children's play area, and is overlooked by all the huge merchant's houses built in (presumably) the 1800s.

We always head for the Palm House. It's quiet there and atmospheric with its Peter Pan sculpture (detail above), manicured lawns and statues of famous explorers, cartographers, scientists and the like.

I suppose you might describe the glass structure as 'splendid'.

Inside there are all kinds of tropical plants from all over the world. It's very leafy and lush. You can just sit and relax and reflect.

There was, inexplicably, a large knitted giraffe too.

The scale of some of the plants is quite breathtaking. I'm not a huge fan of tropical flowers and foliage but this is the perfect setting for them. 

The Palm House also acts as a venue for plays and concerts, and you can hire it out for parties and weddings. I can picture elegant Edwardians there enjoying themselves in a proper, restrained kind of way...

The grass outside was perfect for the birthday boy to crawl about on. He was quite taken with a man and his mower.

I love all the little details, from the decorative wrought iron gates to the brass doorknobs.

If you ever fancy visiting I'd recommend going before autumn sets in. That way you'll get to see the plants in bloom (orchids, hibiscus, bougainvillea and others) and plenty of colour.

Anyway... we headed home in the afternoon. Joe had a snooze in the car then later on we took him for his first haircut. Tomorrow is his party: a lot of people in a small house and garden. I've done all the chores and the house is sparkling. In the morning I'll be baking his cake (an as yet untried recipe). Hope it works!

A birthday and a jaunt (Part One)

Someone had their first birthday today! Lots of cards and lovely gifts from friends and family... and Jay had the day off so we all got to spend it together. After a leisurely morning we headed out to Liverpool: Lark Lane and Sefton Park. We took a picnic and, of course, the camera.

Lark Lane is one of those cool, boho little pockets where students and trendy types live. Lots of independent shops (my favourites are Larks, a gift shop selling retro and vintage-inspired things, and Gasp, which is stuffed to the rafters with second-hand - sorry, pre-loved - furniture and accessories).

Gasp even has a room dedicated to fashion and sewing.

I loved the old shop fittings displaying the old quilts and crochet blankets.

There are also lots of very cool places to eat. Delis, bistros and cafes. And food from all the corners of the globe: Moroccan, Greek, Turkish, Spanish, Jamaican, Italian, Arabic... also vegetarian cafes, traditional fish and chips and several gastropubs.

You don't have to be a Mason to eat and drink in this one (I think).

We sometimes go to the farmer's market on Lark Lane, which is held monthly. It's a good place to pick up plants for the garden, fruit and vegetables and sausages. 

Despite being a trendy place it's still a bit rough and ready. Plenty of 'characters' knocking around and the pavements are very grubby. But we like to go and I defy anyone to walk down the street and not feel hungry as the smells of all those exotic cuisines waft through the air...

Directly across the road lies Sefton Park. We went for a walk there and I'll tell you about that tomorrow (we took lots and lots of photos).

Happy birthday Joe!

A simple Saturday

After a run of bad luck (see my previous post) I've cheered up a bit - the garden has had a much-needed clear-out, we've looked at laptop repairs and several neighbours have joined forces re. dealing with Barky Dog (well, his owner).

On Saturday we had a jaunt to Ramsbottom to buy our provisions from the market. We picked up some nice things like Kentish cherries and Yorkshire strawberries. The last of the summer. There were damsons and plums too. I love autumn food. Not too sure whether a cone of chips is particularly seasonal but they tasted very nice.

The plan was to go blackberry picking so we headed to Chatterton and set out for a walk along the old railway line to Irwell Vale.

It was a bit overcast but that didn't bother us. It's par for the course around here anyway. And I love the smell of damp leaves and soil - these pictures conjure up that smell all over again.

All the blackberries were still at that greeny-red stage so we'll go back in a week or two. Jay's booked the first week of September off and I can't wait.

I have an aversion to throwing food away. We tend not to eat bread crusts for some reason. I keep some for blitzing into breadcrumbs but went through the freezer and fished out all the odd ones lurking in between more enticing things. There was a lot of bread. And I know who appreciates it.

It looks like this could be one for the diary too. Not long until September. It's Joe's first birthday on Thursday  - the past year has flown by.

Threes

I had lots of lovely photographs to share in today's post but it's been a bit of a rubbish day to be honest. There are three unrelated images from my archives instead. Unrelated, but some of my favourites. The lovely, post-themed photos are lost forever. Explanation below...

The 'Threes' thing is to do with the old saying that bad things come in them. Bad Thing #1: my garden plants have been decimated by an assortment of bugs, grubs and caterpillars. A lovely dahlia has been eaten alive before the buds opened into flowers. The gooseberry bushes are mere skeletons. Slugs have put holes in the hosta. Everything else looks a bit - well, awful. And it's Joe's birthday party next weekend. We need to get things looking presentable again. If only there was a bank holiday weekend coming up...

Another Bad Thing: some people have moved in across the road with the noisiest dog ever. As in, they leave it outside all day (and evening) and It. Doesn't. Stop. Barking. I'm on my last nerve. I glimpsed the owners earlier - they looked a bit scary. So I'll just keep the windows closed and try and tune the barking out.

It did push me into changing estate agent though... something we'd been meaning to do for a while. Nothing like desperation to make you get things done.

Bad Thing #3: this is really bad. As in, using some very bad language and then guzzling a bottle of beer bad. I accidentally sat on my laptop. My shiny, recently-purchased laptop. It was open and in use (I'd been choosing those lovely photos I mentioned earlier) and I got up, sat back down and there was a horrible crunching noise. LCD screen crushed. 

We still have Jay's laptop, fortunately. And a hard drive full of photos.

Anyway - I bought a lottery ticket. Surely I'm due some good luck? 

I'm feeling a bit more positive now. The beer possibly helped. Some chocolate didn't do any harm either. And the long weekend promises lots of relaxing, cooking, making and family time.

Enjoy your weekend. And a word of advice: always check behind you before you sit down.

Industrious

I'm really loving this time of year: the heat has gone out of the air, new things are appearing in hedgerows and we're going to Ramsbottom market on Saturday to see what's new on the fruit and veg front.

Speaking of air... I've had the windows and back door open constantly. It feels fresh and vaguely autumnal. As a teenager I used to wander the house with my arms folded tightly across my chest and a permanent scowl on my face because my mum would insist on having the windows open, even in cool weather. Now I'm just the same.

And speaking of hedgerows - here are some rosehips from a little afternoon jaunt Joe and I took earlier. I love having them in the house and they always go in the same vase.

I've been making a few things lately. A bit of paper-folding resulted in some cute little bookmarks.

And an origami harebell. This was definitely a case of beginner's luck though. Later attempts went into the recycling bin. I need a printable set of instructions rather than online video tutorials I think...

I haven't embroidered anything since I was at school (hence the simplicity of this little picture). I really enjoyed it though and am now on the hunt for more embroidery hoops. I know I had a bigger one somewhere but it seems to have disappeared...

There was a printmaking session yesterday afternoon. I know you've already seen the toadstool design. Others I'm happy with: acorn, pinecone, Russian doll, seed head, dandelion clocks. Not so much: pumpkin (will re-draw and cut), leaves (won't bother).

It's part of the process I suppose: some you win, some you discard.

I'm also knitting lots of pairs of wristwarmers. And have found a stash of vintage buttons for embellishment. The craft and vintage fair is six weeks off and I'm getting ever so slightly panicky (hence the industriousness). It's a good job I enjoy doing it though, or what would be the point?

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for the weather for the next few weekends. We have blackberry picking plans for Saturday and the Saturday after that is Joe's first birthday party. Barbecue, birthday cake and (hopefully not) brollies.

Hope you all had a nice weekend!