Good morning, everyone. It looks OK here - the sun isn't up yet but the skies look clear so fingers crossed for a fine day if not a sunny one. We got a spot of rain yesterday late afternoon, just as the BBC forecast said we would but I was too zonked to care after two and a half hours of digging and mowing!
I cut the grass on a high setting and left the mower in the car because I will run over it again on a lower setting and then that's the grass done for the week! Then I tackled the front bed and did the same as last year - turned a row over with the fork and then sat down and went through it with a hand held gizmo to break it all up and remover any nasty rood systems (the ground elder is beginning to come up so it was worth doing - I got a lot of roots out! Very slow work but, as I say, pays dividends
I worked until I I wanted to stop and then did one more row! I would say we've done nearly half of that bed now so it will certainly be finished by the end of the week!
When I got home, there were a few kitchen things to get done and then I made that rhubarb cordial. It's really very nice indeed and I shall certainly make some more when this is used up. I can't have mch myself as it is high sugar but I'll give Beth some and I know my Dad will appreciate some too. When the strawberries come in, I am sure rhubarb and strawberry cordial will taste just wonderful!
I was a bit cross with myself though - after you've pushed the mixture through a muslin lined sieve to get all the cordial out you are left with the sweetened, flavoured rhubarb pulp and I chucked that away before realising that it would be delicious added to yogurt or into porridge. Doh! I shall remember next time!
Then I crashed! I was in bed and fast asleep by nine fifteen AND I slept all through the night too. Great!
Today is busy. Firstly I shall put in a couple of allotment hours. This afternoon is my time for helping out in FS and, as I shall be missing the next two weeks, I must go today. Then some tuition and then I can crash!
After all that exercise, I was very thirsty so got through quite a lot of nice, healthy water and today I have gained a bit of weight. I remember reading that your body holds onto water after hard exercise (which that digging was) to help the muscles repair so I looked it up and yup, that's right. It's not a problem in any way, but it's interesting.
I've been thinking ahead a bit and I will need to continue not only the healthy eating plan (what I'm doing now with more veg and less meal content restriction) but get more active. I have a few ideas which I will discuss in the then month or so but allotmenteering is certainly working towards that as well as providing nice, healthy, fresh veg for the summer.
Better stop waffling on now and get moving. I have things to do.
Have a good day!
What a good day you had, Joy, all that gardening was good exercise, too, and then to sleep all night, a real bonus. I slept reasonably well, but as I say, as we get older we often wake more frequently during the night (for calls of Nature, too!) but if we can go back to sleep (as I did last night) that's fine, I'm sure. We are retired and can usually have a rest in the afternoon.
ReplyDeleteWhat a shame that you threw away the rhubarb pulp, but you will have more eventually. I've never made rhubarb and strawberry cordial, that sounds delicious!
Margaret P
It was lovely to meander down to the loo and then go straight back to sleep again. A great relief all round. :-)
ReplyDeleteI will have more - the plants are doing very well and once they get going it is hard to keep up so this is a great way of using the fruit. I will certainly be making more.
J x