January has been rather snowy around here. Not in a disruptive way, as it's mostly just been a light dusting, but it's been pretty cold, often windy, and the ground has been so hard that doing anything in the garden feels unappealing. I feel like I'm still recovering from the work-related onslaught of the autumn, and while I've been doing quite a bit of DIY, I've been starting weekend mornings slowly, knitting and watching YouTube videos about growing a preserving food. This month's knitting has used wool from The Inkpot. Hannah hand shears her own sheep, and is extremely cheerful. I made socks with this wool at the end of last year (I've already worn them so much I've put a hole in one of the heels), and now I've adapted a cushion pattern from this 1948 knitting book to make a hot water bottle cover with a ridiculous fringe. I've not shaped the top, because I usually sit with one hand inside the cover, and I'd only end up stretching the neck. I've been using this for a week or so now and it's perfect. The other thing I've made in January is calendula salve. Back in the autumn I finally got round to dehydrating some of the abundance of calendula flowers from our garden, which I'd been meaning to do all summer. They sat in the dehydrator for several weeks, until finally I got throwing them into a jar of sweet almond oil which had been under the sink for about five years. There were still a few flowers in the garden at this point, so I threw them, fresh, into olive oil. I turned both jars daily for a few weeks - they both turned a rich golden colour, but the fresh flowers went slightly mouldy, which I'm told is always a risk when there might be moisture left. So that jar sadly went in the bin, but the rest I strained and mixed with beeswax (which had also been under the sink for about five years), to make several tiny jars of calendula salve. I've read it's a miracle cure for all kinds of skin complaints, from chicken pox to sunburn. I don't know about that, but I can confirm it works wonders on dry skin, and on hands sore from the cold.
I've got a lot of plans for the garden this year, and one of them is to learn more about the things that are growing (whether I've planted them or not) and what they can be used for, so there might be a little bit more experimenting from me in the coming months.
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I walk so much less since we moved here. In the city I walked everywhere - to work, to the shops, to visit friends, to the library, to the doctors. Here, there are many miles of beautiful footpaths, but no reasonable destination. We can walk to the local shops, just under two miles, but it's across muddy fields and back up a big hill, so we don't do it all that often. We've started walking more lately though. Working from home for months on end is taking its toll on my back, and we started walking every day over Christmas, a habit we've been trying to continue ever since, especially now that lockdown is in place again and we can't meet anyone else. The weather has been rather mixed, but we're getting out regardless, even if it's just to walk up to the road and back. Some days we leave it til nearly dusk, and the sky gets rather dramatic. A couple of days the weather has been utterly glorious (although still cold). I've had two trips to the local village, one with Peter, one on my own. The second time the sunshine was so warm I sat on a bench for a while with a takeaway cup of tea, and felt very briefly like I could almost imagine summer happening again. It was amazing how little snow there was once I got down the hill. One day we had an exciting adventure, when we walked around town from the supermarket rather than from home. Yes, that's as exciting as it gets right now (although it did get a little too exciting when we struggled to get the car out of its hillside parking space). Mostly, though, we walk from home, avoiding footpaths across fields as everywhere is so soggy. So we walk the lanes, sometimes in one direction, sometimes the other, occasionally just out to the road and back again. Lately we've been leaving it til after dark, and it's been quite peaceful to be out with just the stars (I do miss the daylight though). I hope this wandering is something we can continue together through the year. I'm enjoying watching the weather and the scenery change.
I started 2020 by looking back at 2019, and reflecting that it had been rather less eventful than 2018. I'm not entirely sure what to say about 2020, but let's see, shall we? After reflecting on 2019, I made a start on my 20 for 2020 list, of 20 things I planned to do during the year. I thought a lot about walls (I still do), and caught up on November and December in the garden. Then I went through a flurry of making things, including my own pants and a path across the grass. I waffled on about all the things I don't do, and spent a couple of weeks tracking my days (something I love to do and may do again). I ended the month with an update of my 20 for 2020 list. I started February with another post tracking my days, then moved on to start my 'on the homestead' series, which I've enjoyed very much and will continue in 2021. I joined a running group and started running again, then it snowed, and I made a hat! I'd stopped waffling quite so much by March - just a February on the homestead post (I'd started making compost bins and plastering the bedroom), a 20 in 2020 update, and then a post about how strange the world had become as we went into our first lockdown. April began with an update on March's 20 in 2020 progress, and March on the homestead. I got used to running on my own again as our running group could no longer meet, we mourned the loss of Mildred, one of our original chickens. I organised a virtual Easter egg hunt for my nephews, made orange curd and some simple cushion covers, and had an extremely quiet and uneventful 40th birthday. I finished the month with another 20 in 2020 update. May began with an April on the homestead post (I finished the compost bin, bought a dehydrator, and made a bit of progress on rebuilding the field wall). Tragedy struck again tragically we lost our final original chicken, Maud. I finally got started on growing some veg, and I ended the month reflecting on the sunshine and the weirdness of lockdown. I was quiet in June, just doing May's 20 in 2020 update, and reporting on May on the homestead - we made good progress on the veg beds, the seedlings started growing, and we had to unblock the septic tank overflow pipe. In July, I made up for June's quietness with an epic fourteen blog posts. We began with a chicken themed post - Bessie had a hormonal implant, and we picked up our new chickens, Bonnie, Bunty and Chippy. Then I got stuck. The pandemic, and the lockdown, finally started fraying my nerves. I started the slow progress of dragging myself back to cheerfulness, which was helped considerably when the restrictions changed and we were able to visit a friend for a pizza in their garden. I had a very long Tuesday, an even longer Wednesday, and an also long Thursday. I took Friday off, went for a bike ride, and we had visitors in our revamped garden shelter. We had more visitors over the weekend (and another bike ride), and then I finally got round to doing updates for June on the homestead and 20 in 2020. Still in July, I had a week off - visited some of my family, had some more visitors, and went for a couple of long walks. I started making hay again, and spent quite a lot of time bicycling. I began August with updates on July in the homestead (the veg patch was looking good, the new chickens were getting used to being out and about, and we had a few lots of visitors), and 20 in 2020. I had a bicycling hiatus after getting punctures in both bikes, sharpened my scythe, and had a fortnight off, during which I got a bit grumpy, went on several exciting adventures, did quite a bit of plotting and scheming, and finished with tracking an ordinary day. I ended the month with August's 20 in 2020 update. September began with an August on the homestead update - some success and some failure in the veg patch, a bit of hay, and a very tiny bit of DIY. It started to feel distinctly like autumn, and we finally walked to the top of the big hill behind our house. Then the autumn equinox happened, and I was just not ready for the slow descent towards winter. October began with a September on the homestead update - some harvesting, a dramatic cow rescue, and endless scything - and then a 20 in 2020 update too. The clocks went back, and I felt like I'd emerged from a particularly difficult period at work (a feeling that quickly vanished...). An October on the homestead update started November - we'd started making plans for our woodland, and harvested some turnips, but mostly just looked out of the window. Then there was another 20 in 2020 update, followed by a walk in the woods with some friends. December started with a November on the homestead post - slowly putting the veg patch to sleep, bringing in the last of the failed hay, the first frost, making damson gin, and painting the kitchen ceiling beams. This was followed by a 20 in 2020 update, and a wander through the solstice. I then managed to get ahead of myself, with a final 20 in 2020 round up, and I ended the year fittingly with December on the homestead - the chickens went into lockdown after a bird flu outbreak, we had quite a bit of snow, and our new woodland arrived. A fitting end to a rather turbulent year.
So there we are. I'm always surprised when I do these end of year posts - what I remember from the year isn't always what I've written about here - but it is lovely to look back. Every year I vow to write each month as I go along, and every year I curse myself for not doing so. Hey ho. I wonder what 2021 will bring? I've made plans, of course, but as we all know, plans can rather suddenly be changed. I'm going to keep it simple and hope for meals with friends and maybe an adventure or two. |
Hello!Sit down and make yourself comfortable. I'm Jenni, and I write here about our new foray into country living, which includes growing food, knitting, baking, wandering around the fields, and seeing which local cafe serves the best cake. Categories
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