Saturday, January 29, 2011

Family Trees.

A few years ago i was really into finding out about my ancestors....especially since i'm here in the UK and most of them orginated from here, and i could actually go to some of those places they came from.
I paid and joined ancestry, put up the tree that i know of so far and researched people. I enjoyed it, but i didnt spend money on getting certificates as i was spending money on stash(errmmmm....scrapbooking products!) at the time!. After a while i hit a brick wall that only certs would break down, so i decided to shelve the search for a while and have never really gone back to it.
However, over the past year or so, i have been contacted by 3 different people about possible connections with my ancestors and its beginning to reignite my interest. Ancestry i notice now require you to paid to do just about anything, and since i no longer buy stash, i'm toying with taking out an annual membership!. Trouble is, since half my rellies ended up downunder, i have to take out the most expensive one!.
I just find the whole tree on the web thing fascinating.....to be contacted by a distant branch of the family from another country is amazing to me!.
This summer i am going to visit an area some ancestors came from that is probably no more than an hours drive from here!!.
I wonder how many of my friends look into their family trees?.

Thursday, January 27, 2011

packages!!....

This years seed potatoes have arrived!!.
I'm only trying 4 varieties this year.... Nadine, International Kidney, Ulster Classic and Salad Blue....a blue potato!!.
The arrival of this package has got me thinking about keeping track of the expenses for this year on the plot, as i dont really need to buy all that much for a change!.
so far it has cost me £70 in rent and seed potatoes.
I shall do my best to keep track this year and then try and figure out what i harvest would have cost me!.

For MWG.....yes, its a tomato!!.

Thursday, January 13, 2011

New Starts.....

Wordless Wednesday

I have just seen on my mate Ally's blog about wordless wednesday, where on a wednesday you just post a photo you have taken recently and thats all....its about the picture not the words to go with it.
So, i kinda like that idea, and am going to give it a go and see how long it lasts!. I will be back with the first pic in a mo, when i've resized it!.

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Journal your Christmas 2010!

Today i finished my JYC for this past holiday season. I didnt keep up well, no matter how organised i was.....i still had to many things in the box to choose from, so that has to be refined even more for the 2011 version!. i had a go at catching up before the holidays and got to day 9, so yesterday i decided i would just crack on til it was done. i think i started mid arvo and gave up the ghost on page 25 at 1130pm....even watching NZ cricket couldnt keep me awake!. so i got up this morning and finished it off. i have left out a few pages and only gone to the 31st, with one page for Jan, with a couple of pics i wanted to include. the ones i left out were because nothing else happened on those days, and they had already been covered in previous years.
i'll take some piccies and post them soon-ish!.

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

I made do and mended!.

This morning whilst getting dressed i realised i have a wardrobe malfunction in the over shoulder boulder holder department with 2 of the 3 hooks now coming unstitched. As i got it secure enough to last the day i thought 'great, gotta buy new bras tonight when i get home!'.....i have another one with the same issues!.
fast forward to this evening and i'm driving home and i had a brainwave!....yes i know, it was a shock to me as well!. i decided to restitch the hooks back into place rather than buy a new bra!. so i did, just now, while the pc was deciding to turn on, i stitched both of the wobbly ones back, and checked it did up ok.....it did!.
hoooray for me!. tomorrow i shall mend the other one as well, and then i wont need a new bra for a while longer!!.

Monday, January 3, 2011

Early Tomatoes.

Again, this year i have sown a few tomato seeds to get a head start on the growing season and hopefully have a few toms earlier than most!. The difference this year will be the polytunnel....i think i will grow all my toms in there and see how much of a difference it makes.
So far in my tomato gorwing history, i have not had much success in getting huge returns. I've always managed to get a few toms, which, because there is only a few, i've taken the seeds from rather than eaten. these toms were grown outside on the allotment and were always pretty rubbish compared to other plot holders toms. so i am hoping the polytunnel will help, plus i need to be more caring of them!.....which i will have to being in the tunnel...i'll have to remember to water them on a regular basis.
i have sown 6 varieties...one seed of each today, and will follow that with another sowing in early feb, and again in early march.
the varieties are Amish Paste( from seeds collected in 2009 and 2010), cheriettes of fire ( which are pea size toms!), Pigletwillies French Black ( from a kindly grapevine member who collected them in france!), Purple Ukraine and white wonder.

i'll keep you posted on progress!. now i'm off to read back on the tom plantings from last year!.

Sunday, January 2, 2011

and so this year.....

I've been thinking about goals for the year and the main one that i've been mulling on has been about books....probably something to do with the fact that bar my cookbooks, i have all the rest of my books in my bedroom....i have far to many books...altho i dont believe that is ever the case - just in this house!!.

so i have decided that for 2011 i will not buy any books....if i see something that i like, i will add it to my amazon wishlist and review it at some point during the year, then again at the end of the year, before i think about ordering the ones that survive all the cuts!.
it seems a simple goal, but for me its a biggie....books are an essential part of my home and to not buy any is going to be hard....i really cut down this year, but to cut it out altogether will be hard. the only exception will be if i am given a book voucher...i will use it rather than risk wasting it.

so i wont buy any books, and i will read the ones that i havent read.....which, lets face it, is 90% of them!. then i will pass on those that i dont fancy reading again, and keep those i really enjoy!.

so, thats it....my main goal for this year!.

Happy 2011!

G U L P!!

It's been a while!!.

I might be back for a while, i might not be....who knows!.
Brief nutshell of May 2010 til now.....moved into the house mentioned in the last post and got on with work. Work....i love it and i hate it!.not sure how much longer i will stay with the company i work for.

Havent done very well on the allotment front.....didnt go as much as i should have, as the house is that little bit to far for a 'nip' to the lottie. i need to do better!. i did get the frame up of the polytunnel, but not the cover, which i decided would wait til after the winter in case its damaged....good job...we've had lots of snow!.

In sept the Captain came back into my life and is still here, and fingers crossed will continue to be....we get on so well, have the same sense of humour and alot of the same interests and views.

I havent done well on making things....the scrapbooking is non exsistant, altho i am doing JYC this year, albeit incrediably behind!. i finally cracked crochet, only to not do anymore and havent knitted much more than a couple of lines for the blanket thats been on the needles for the past 5 or 6 yrs!!.