0 comment Thursday, September 18, 2014 | admin
Child has returned home from a week in the surf and sun, with plenty of stories to tell and all kinds of fun and games. The day is sunny but I can feel the fall-time creeping in as I went outside and brought the rose wine in to see if it's cleared, and it has. So, into bottles this will go! If I had a fancy corking machine I'd do these traditionally, but my hand strength is pretty shot so the best I can do these days is the bottle capper I use for beer. It doesn't make much a difference to be honest (though don't tell the purists I'm doing it this way).
I also went out and harvested some Bromley apples straight off the tree, and while I'm grateful for the free fruit (it isn't even my tree!) a lot of the apples are rotting on the branch and taking all the other apples with them. Eek! I'm not even sure they're ready! But I'm trying to gather and pick as I can though I don't have the best storage for these - today I'll maybe make a crumble.
The elderberry/rosehip syrup is on the boil right now as we speak, and I added a bit of clove and cinnamon for taste and to help with coughs. It's a shame I can no longer take this syrup but it's a big immune-system booster and sadly that's part of my problems with the inflammatory arthritis. However in a pinch when I'm feeling a flu bug creep up on me I might just throw caution to the winds anyway - I'd rather have a bit of a flare than the flu! I save some of this in the fridge for the first couple weeks of school-return (any parent knows what a nightmare of bugs that can be) and then some goes into the freezer for winter.
I've just picked the pears off our little pear tree and I must say for a little minarette I'm rather impressed to get even one pear off it, let alone four! Not bad going for our little tree, and I've brought the pears in now to ripen up in our fruit bowl.
Strawberries and raspberries are still going for it at the moment, giving me fruit to the very last. I'm having to tug out various old sheets to plan for coming frosts but I'm hoping for a bit of an Indian Summer before that happens (though I now have space heaters at the ready!)
And so it goes: child's 8th birthday coming up (dear gods above) and so I'm keeping an eye out for present ideas and plots and plans for a birthday party if I've the strength - though I'm also mindful I may be trying out some new medication and I just don't know the effects yet. Maybe I can coordinate something with the school, we'll have to see.
I also went out and harvested some Bromley apples straight off the tree, and while I'm grateful for the free fruit (it isn't even my tree!) a lot of the apples are rotting on the branch and taking all the other apples with them. Eek! I'm not even sure they're ready! But I'm trying to gather and pick as I can though I don't have the best storage for these - today I'll maybe make a crumble.
The elderberry/rosehip syrup is on the boil right now as we speak, and I added a bit of clove and cinnamon for taste and to help with coughs. It's a shame I can no longer take this syrup but it's a big immune-system booster and sadly that's part of my problems with the inflammatory arthritis. However in a pinch when I'm feeling a flu bug creep up on me I might just throw caution to the winds anyway - I'd rather have a bit of a flare than the flu! I save some of this in the fridge for the first couple weeks of school-return (any parent knows what a nightmare of bugs that can be) and then some goes into the freezer for winter.
I've just picked the pears off our little pear tree and I must say for a little minarette I'm rather impressed to get even one pear off it, let alone four! Not bad going for our little tree, and I've brought the pears in now to ripen up in our fruit bowl.
Strawberries and raspberries are still going for it at the moment, giving me fruit to the very last. I'm having to tug out various old sheets to plan for coming frosts but I'm hoping for a bit of an Indian Summer before that happens (though I now have space heaters at the ready!)
And so it goes: child's 8th birthday coming up (dear gods above) and so I'm keeping an eye out for present ideas and plots and plans for a birthday party if I've the strength - though I'm also mindful I may be trying out some new medication and I just don't know the effects yet. Maybe I can coordinate something with the school, we'll have to see.
Labels: Food, Garden, Good Life