Planning the planting

I have just only started on digging my stash of seeds for veggie plot. I don't usually grow any flowers apart from those I can use somehow (like nasturtium seeds as capers or marigolds as insect repellant in veg plot etc) so it's only boring vegetables.

Should I put them in alphabetical order?
Or arrange them in order I need to precultivate them?
Or in groups which goes where in my veggie plot?
Or which are the most important ones?

And I'm sure I haven't even found all of them. Spinach was stored upside down and all seeds had scattered to the bottom of one of plastic boxes  have been keeping my seeds. I didn't remember I had spinach seeds. I doesn't do well because of all light we have during summer (it's not plant of long days, it bolts right away). I'll sow only NZS, it'll do fine for us.

It's a good thing I checked my existing seeds. There's only few things I need to buy. Broad beans (they did suffer last summer, hot weather and aphids tortured my plants, my sisters broad beans didn't do any better). Carrots (I'd like to have seeds in ribbons/tape/whatever, so no need to thin them so much). Peas (not snap peas, I've still got those). And if I can find patty pan zucchinis I'll buy them, I haven't found them in ages!

I thought I didn't have beans... well, I do. I also have several packets of chard (even my favourite Bright Lights, it's basically just a mix of different colours but I really like it), pumpkins and zucchinis, salads, radishes, kales and other brassicas (I might buy a packet of plain cabbage seeds, I have red cabbage but not white). I have plenty of corn, it hasn't done well lately for some reason. I have specials, like jungle cucumber (cucamelon or something like that), watermelons, "melons" (no idea what they are apart that they are melons, not watermelons, the picture looks like cantaloupe to me). Also I have chilis and cucumbers, and calendulas, marigolds and nasturtiums. I might buy sunflowers, they usually do poorly, bit I keep trying anyway.

I also need to plan where to put what. I have an old pile of horse manure, pumpkins might like that. Melons need warmth, so they will go to polytunnel.

So far I have only sowed some peas for peashoots (dried peas ment for soups), os eats them straight from the pot, I don't even need to cut them for him. Because I apparently have enough spinach seeds to grow Popey his year's need I need to figure out what to do with it. Maybe I can grow it in pots and use as shoots as I use peas. Oh, and I need to put some popcorn seeds to sprout so we can eat corn shoots!

And I found a big packet of meadow mix, they are supposed to be sown in autunm as well as corn salad. I really need to think how I'm able to have place for autunm planting/sowing, because at the moment i have two raised beds full already, garlic and brassicas. I have high hopes for garlic.

How come they say gardening eases your stress?

Mid term and mid winter

Because of ... something bureaucratic mess, our mid term is this week, while all others were having last week off (our town council has decided to close our grammar school and it's caused  quite a havoc).

So far I have managed to made this:

It's illfitting, twisted at some places and loose on others, but I'm so proud, I have never made one before!

Ironing denim fabricks, cutting pieces and sewin took me several hours on sunday, but I thought it'll take me whole week! I even made a cushion, all finished and not left hanging like I usually do.

Then I made these. Not for treasure hunting (sorry about blurry picture, I quess I need new glasses)

As you can see, that spruce is heavily tilted, it is actually drying and dying.

I marked dead, damaged or otherwise need-to-removed trees for old man to fell with os. It's actually hard work to walk on the forest and paint those trees. Not painting, but walking sometimes knee-deep heavy snow was. I'm glad I'm not the one to fell those trees! I think we don't need any more wood for the next winter if all those I marked are cutted to dry before mid summer.

This doesn't look bad, but under the pineneedles is about 30-40cm of snow. There trees are left standing, nothing wrong with them.

I have a hunch I'm not going to sow my salads on the polytunnel next weekend. I was tilted, polytunnel skeleton and raised beds are even.

Winter is still going strong, even if weather has been mid-march-like lately.  I have bought some seeds (chilis, beets, pumpkins...) but I need to make an inventory what I have left from last summer. I think I used all my sunflowers and beans and I'n not sure about salads. need to check them out today. After I have made waffels.

This is my ys's breakfast nowadays. Sliced banana on rye bread (and D vitamin fish) - this is far more healthy than my ham sandwithc!

I was unsupervised at IKEA

It's been raining for five days. A lot of water. And everything is so wet, damp and/or otherwise miserable. Snowbanks has sunken (Oh joy, I can again shovel snow over the banks...), forest floor is full of branches. Squirrels have been busy, there's a carpet of spruce shoots under every big spruce (and we have quite a many big spruces i n our forest). Roads got slippery, and after four days of rain they turned into soft mush, so driving is nerve wrecking.
Sys had a homework, he had to plan a meal and prepare it. After weeks of contemplations he finally decided he wanted to make meatballs and spaghetti. The way I do them.

So, he made tomato sauce (I might have taken idea from Nigella? originally): garlic, carrots, beet root, tomato passata from tin, crushed (dry) broad beans... beans were ys's idea, because he doesn't like meatballs, and I told he might need some alternative source of protein, so he told "You could put beans in tomato sauce and liquidize it". He used a kilo of minced meat! but so of it went to 'Suma and kittens (and Pretty Boy got some, too).
But meal was served and it was plenty. And delicious, as always...

After that I have been digging to my stores of fabrics. So far I have found Harry Potter print, two owl tea towels (don't have a clue where I have gotten them from?) red denim, black denim (4m, I have bought it for 6€, it still had price tag), one Harry Potter book I didn't know we had, and a plastic bag full of strings for present wrapping. Now I know where they went. And four euros, and scarf I couldn't find in autunm. No idea why coins or the scarf were among fabrics.
I was looking for blue denim.

Because I found two armchairs from IKEA at 30€ each but they don't have covers. And I had this wonderful idea of sewing those covers by myself... Because I was sure I have some denim at home which would be perfect for those armchairs...
I think I don't have enough of blue denim for one chair, but I have just enough black for another.

I wasn't really looking for armchairs, but we need a new one (now we have two leather armchairs from 80's and they are ripped a part by... 'Suma). And my sister has her birthday just around the corner (and a round number, too).

So we brought home two armchairs and now I HAVE to sew covers for them.

Oh bugger.

Oh, there's snow now?

It's been snowing.
Like most of Europe, I think.

This happy fellow greets us in our forest every day (or night, like when I took this picture). Don't have to wonder where Norwegian artists took their inspiration for trolls...

Sys skiing - we have to go buy him new skiis and ski shoes today, because he needs them tomorrow at school. Oh the joys of dragging them in school bus!

'Suma got bored with me taking troll pictures.

My long socks finally! finished and tested. Snow was deeper than I thought...

A bit overcooked lasaga - nevermind it's so good! Grated carrots and a beet added to bolognese makes it even darker.

Majestetic views - unfortunately those trees will snap at some point and may cause danger, but now they are pretty.

Had to add some length to sys's hat, thats Red Heart's reflective yarn, i have knitted three in different colours to d, sys and ys.

More snow during the evening and even maybe tomorrow. Haven't decided yet days I'll work from home. Depends how's traffic.

Coldest so far

Last night and this morning were coldest so far, our temp meter said -23C. But I know its much colder in open fields (we are in the middle of trees so this is much warmer place, as well as cooler place in summer heat). Yesterday morning when our meter said -21C, my aunt's meter said -27C. So, it might be, that this morning it was -30C.
No matter what, it was way too cold!
I'm happy to tell now it's much warmer (haha), temp meter said -12C.

I didn't do my normal 'Sumawalk in the morning, no way. And 'Suma was allright with it, she happily got inside after we had escorted kids to taxi (with a little detour by the fields so if 'Suma had to go, she had the chance). 30mins outside and I was freezing.
I'm not build to live this cold.
So, I have been adding wood to fireplaces and drinking hot tea. My fingers are warm and only my ankles ache a little (sometimes if it's really really cold I have to take painkillers to ease the pain in my legs and joints).

I found few small boxes of raisins and almond flakes that had exceeded their use by date too much even to my liking (actually, almod is so fatty it becomes rancid at some point if not kept in freezer). Added them to bird food, jays really like raisins.
Kids are going to have semolina pudding after school, I had cabbage pasty as lunch. Haven't figured out what we will dinner be, but I think I'll get ideas when I take 'Suma to forest for her walk. Good time to think.

Spacewalk

I told kids we'll go for a spacewalk.

This is, my children - the outer space!

Full moon, bright snow blanket over everything sparkling like diamonds under bright moonlight.

We found several star constellations, saw a plane travelling across the sky and wondered just how fast clouds drifted in the sky.
Tomorrow morning there will be moon eclipse, hopefully we'll be able to see it, too. We'll make another spacewalk then, while walking to the taxistop.
Even os went outside for a minute after we came back inside.

Weekend and stuff

It's finally weekend. Actually the week itself wasn't too bad, for working at home two days has benefits! But still, weekend is a weekend.

It's a pity I can't take photos in the dark. When light in our yard are lit, big spruces behind our house make this view look somehow like from Game of Thrones.

Ski tracks. One villager made them after Thursday's snowstorm (it was -20C yesterday while I took this picture). So much easier to walk along that ready made path, it's so wide I don't step on skitracks. Two empty areas ahead are because of the tornado, that used to be dense forest all the way!

Skitracks continue. -10C.

 

 

One of the Rocky Road batches I made during Christmas. It was delicious and it's been eaten a long ago.

Hb and ys set up a bird feeder just before Christmas (ys had made it in school), and it took almous four weeks for the birds to find it! But now they are enjoying their daily buffet of seeds and fat. Jays, all kind of tits and yellowhammers. i can see them from my place at dinner table where I use my laptop while I'm working. Sometimes it's good just to watch birds.

Right now I'm waiting to fire die out in my wood oven, I'll make a roasted boar with root veggies, it should be good. Also I made dough for buns, I used my dried white clovers grinded to flour and grated left over cheeses from fridge. Should be good, too.
I might make an another batch of Rocky Road, I have still lots of chocolates, marshmallows and apparently ready popped popcorn. That will be good!
I should also try to bake a batch of shortbread cookies with meadowsweet sugar, don't know how they will end up.

And now I'm starving!