Firstly I’m using a new way of editing my posts. This editor has been available within WordPress for a number of years and initially it was clunky so I reverted to the Classic editor. So far so good and I might be a convert. Let me know what you think of the new look.
I don’t think I’ve had a suet pudding or dumplings for a very long time. I can recall ordering a steak and kidney suet pudding at a restaurant and what was delivered was a crusty pie, not suet. My mother used to make superb suet puddings – comfort food was very much her thing.
With the arrival of my Crockpot I thought it would be a good time to try my hand at using the steamer to make dumplings. And here we have the result – minted lamb, potatoes, carrots, green beans and of course dumplings. I was amazed that I managed to eat it all. I won’t lose weight this way.
I need this (dumplings) huge input of carbohydrates when I’m spending so much time working in the garden. I’ve had a pile of small branches (bigger than a twig but smaller than a branch) accumulating over the past 12 months and I’ve been meaning to cut them up. At long last the pile is no more and I’ve added them to my kindling store.
The vegetable plot looks very neat and tidy since I had the block paths laid. For this photo I’m standing in the back corner and I’ve just dug over the area where I shall be planting red cabbage in late April or early May. It was a beautiful spring morning. The frost had just burnt off and it was a clear blue sky. It felt very good.
Over the past 5 years I’ve accumulated a lot rubbish (stones, dead wood, etc.) around the garden and there are certain parts that look very scruffy. I decided that once spring was here and the hedgehogs had left their winter hibernation I would have a clear out.
I’ve never hired a skip before because I usually make several trips to the recycling centre but I thought this would be easier. After an hour I had already made good progress but there’s plenty more to shift.
Shortly after moving in 7 years ago Jane used a lot of the builders waste to make a bug hotel. As you can see it has disintegrated and is just a mess. There are plenty of places around the garden for creatures to make their homes. I’ve built a couple of rotting log piles.
This bug hotel is being demolished and put into the skip. I don’t know yet what I shall do with the space once it is cleared and I might store plant pots there. More on this once the job is done…
