Never, ever, in the history of everything, has a woman waited with such excitement for a mountain of well-rotted compost to be plonked on her doorstep.
Oh hang on, perhaps I need to rewind this a teensy bit. Shall we knit/crochet a little whilst I explain? If it’s OK, I’ll finish sewing the buttons on to the Trip To Town cardigan that I’m making for my friend Alice. (Pattern by Drops here.) If you’re reading this, Alice, please pretend not to have noticed that last sentence, or the photo below, or indeed the fact that it is now ‘some’ time since the birthday on which you were supposed to have received this gift. (It’s fortunate that Alice is a tolerant sort of person.) The photo below shows a previous Trip To Town that I finished, because it’s too dark here now for effective cardigan photography:-
Alice’s cardigan is identical to this, but with deliberately mismatched buttons, expertly chosen by friends at knit-night.
Anyway, back to the compost. Maybe it’s Brexit-anxiety (it’s definitely Brexit-anxiety) but I want to increase my home-grown veg output. Ours is a cottage garden, with the occasional vegetable slouching amongst the jumble of flowers. But way too many times I’ve trampled a young asparagus or an onion whilst trying to dead-head the heleniums. Yeah, get me with my fancy-schmancy flower names. Here are the aforementioned heleniums, with bonus hoverfly:-
Also, EVERYONE (by which I mean somewhere in excess of two people) told me that parsnips are really hard to germinate so you should plant vast numbers of seeds in the hope of getting at least a couple of plants. I diligently followed that advice. Guess who now has AN ENTIRE GARDEN RAMMED WITH PARSNIPS?!
…which is great I suppose, because this will save me from having to eat my own husband in the terrifying post-Brexit world we’re about to trigger. (Joking. Sort of. A bit.)
But it’s a known fact that woman cannot knit on parsnip alone. So I put together some raised beds, in order to attempt a proper three-year crop rotation of ALL THE VEG. This is the ‘before’ shot:-
I do love to play with power tools…
Nearly there. Rushing because it’s almost time to fetch the twinnage from school. NOTE THE SEXY PINK GARDENING SHOES AND KNEE-PADS!
So here are the finished objects. Not things of beauty, but they’ll look better once they’re full of compost and overflowing with ready-to-harvest dinner:-
Several days after I started writing this post in my scruffy old notebook, a man turned up at my door. He looked tired. I followed him up the drive to find a lorry containing a stack of boxes of packs of salt and vinegar crisps, and two giant loads of COMPOST. At last!! (I don’t know who’d ordered that many crisps, but I do know that I’d sincerely like to be their friend.)
It took both of us, plus a wobbly old trolley, and some genuinely inventive use of the English vernacular, to shift the compost from the lorry, down our woefully impractical gravel driveway, to our little carpark. But we did it. Tired-looking-bloke departed with his crisps, leaving me with the little job of transporting the compost barrow by barrow round to the back of the house and UP THE STEPS to the vegetable beds.
It’s not finished yet. This could take a while. But see that little red wheelbarrow? The twinnage are helping. 🙂
So dinner will be ready in about three months’ time. I hope you’re hungry. And whilst we wait, I’d better finish Alice’s cardigan, hadn’t I?
One more thing. Thank you to those of you who wrote wise and kind words in relation to my father’s recent health problems. I’m trying to follow your advice. I have managed once or twice to so-quickly-you-could-miss-it mumble “Love you” when I say goodbye to my parents, but We Don’t Talk About Feelings Around Here, and honestly, my stiff upper lip is so rigidly horizontal that it could find useful employment as a bookshelf. My Dad’s doing OK mostly, which is the important thing, but of course one worries.
Mumble it more! Practice ’til your lip splits if you have to There is nothing than lifts parental spirits/pride more than when a child says (mumbles) I love you WITHOUT PROMPTING, regardless of their age. That alone will make your Dad feel better! And really, nothing else matters.
I’m trying, I promise. And sometimes I’m succeeding. Thank you for your wisdom.
I share your worry about the Brexit. I love my homegrown vegetables, I had two and a half patisson the slug left us we’ve eaten in curry. Herbs to eat in all kinds of home cooked diner and frozen cucumber because @*&%$ we had night frost in august, darn, stupid climate change. I wish you luck with the vegetable garden, try to make a cover so you can plant in winter. That cardi is such a great and sweat gift. Love the buttons. Life is far to exiting to have the same buttons.
Frost in August?! That’s insane! *sigh* We really have messed up the climate. ???? But weather permitting, enjoy your home-grown veg. ❤️
I would recommend to anyone who is caring for parents or older relatives to read WORKING DAUGHTER by Liz O’Donnell. I am reading it post daughter caregiver experience and wish I has this book when I was caring for both parents, working full time and trying to be a wife and mother. Reading it now, I am comforted by her wisdom that’s helped me understand that I didn’t do as crappy a job as I thought it was when all the pressures of caregiving pushed in.
I so live your writing and seeing your life through your pictures, works and knitting.
Thank you for all of this – the book recommendation and your kind words. And please be kind to yourself, because that sounds like more roles than any one human being can accomplish. ❤️
I do worry about you all over there in pre-Brexit land. At least someone is planning for post-Brexit (shame the politicians didn’t do some planning several years ago). Can’t wait to see your veggie haul. Any thoughts of getting chickens for eggs? Then you can make vegetable frittata. Do like the mismatched buttons for the cardi.
Chickens would be great, but would probably result in divorce, sadly. Fortunately several friends in the village keep chickens and are willing to trade.
My Dad grew the best parsnips in the world. His method was to plunge really big holes with a crowbar, fill each hole with fine compost and drop in 3 seeds, cover them lightly and water them. When they started to sprout, he judged which was the best and pulled out the others. The flavour was especially good when they were left in the soil until they had a touch of frost.
Sounds perfect. I do at least know about the leaving-until-first-frost thing, though it’s awfully tempting to pull up a couple now…
Could you start with a quick hand squeeze or arm squeeze while your practicing ‘I Love You’ any small sign of affection until you get that ball rolling!
Yes, I’m getting there slowly.
Loving the “Square Foot Veggie Gardening” you’re creating. Ever so smart. In the city in which I live in the US, many folks have dedicated their front yards to square foot gardening. It’s a wonderful vision, as we drive around. Right now, lots of fall veggies and huge pumpkins. Parent caring is trying on the soul. I learned so much about my father that I hadn’t previously, prior to his passing, as he finally decided to share(!). Learned he was chosen in his senior year of high school to sing “Danny Boy” at the grand assembly in honor of those lost thus far in WWII (at that time it was early spring 1944). My cousin and I cried, then broke out in song, singing “Danny Boy” for my Dad. …Both my husband and I wish the smoothist transition for the U.K. Many will disagree with us, but then again, we thought the establishment of the EU would one day come to naught, thereby causing great fiscal, etc., calamity to many countries. Just our view from way over here. (My ancestors from Norwich, so, honestly, I really do care.) Happy fiber creating to all.
Thank you for every part of your comment. I’m glad your Dad was able to talk to you more, even if it was near the end of his life.
Brexit is a terrible idea (for us). I just hope that we can avoid it.
It’s great that you start letting the forbidden I Love You words out in the wild… With a bit of practice they will overcome the Great Stiff Lip.
I missed saying those words to my Mother and then she suddenly passed away. Now I wish I had said them and hugged her to show my love. We didn’t do feelings either, as you could guess.
Funny thing, the person giving us a talk on World Mental Health Day mentioned the infamous Stiff Lip
I’m getting there, slowly. I’m sorry that it was hard to say the words to your mother (but I completely understand the reticence). Would she not have known you loved her from your actions, even if you didn’t speak the words? ❤️
Great job on the veg boxes! Love the knee pads – I have the same ones that I wear for work. Not sure I’d get away with the pink shoes though.
Our (or rather, hubby’s) Brexit preparations include placing a large Sainsbury’s order of lots of long life food items and extra household essentials… growing our own veg may have been a better idea for the long term, though hopefully not necessary!
Yeah, I’m probably over-reacting. I HOPE I’m over-reacting. But we live in crazy times, so who knows?
Indeed, who knows. Sometimes it feels like we’re all living in some weird parallel universe. Hoping we’ll flip back to the real one soon.
Fingers crossed.
Love the buttons & the veg beds..Even if you don’t talk feelings with your parents, they KNOW you love them in the same way as you KNOW they love you. My Dad was the same but I have no doubt about his feelings. Chin up!
You’re probably right. I hope you’re right. Thank you for the reassurance.
Ha, loving the post apocalyptic Brexit planning. You are my hubby’s long lost twin. As well as the raised beds we have a ‘Brexit box that he is filling with useful things, I’m adding Crisps as a world without them – shudders’!
I’m also using Brexit as a useful excuse for purchasing more yarn than usual ‘ in case it runs out’. All of us knitty folk should be ok until about 2120 ????
On a tad more serious note, with your dad just do what feels natural. Us Brit’s are terrible at the I love you stuff. He will know but maybe write it down, tell him your crap at saying it but that you will always love him, that he is the best dad ever or whatever feels real. After that just settle for a hug ( and a ‘luv ya’ if you can force the words out).
A little story on keeping it real that has stuck with me:
Some years ago when working in A+E an old pop had impaled his foot with a garden fork ( perhaps he knew Brexit was coming), he was going off to theatre to have the wound cleaned and a wire fixed to a small bone he’d fractured. Just before he went down he asked in all seriousness if he was going to die on the table. I said it wasn’t in the plan & asked why. His reply – “my son said I love you dad” before leaving the hospital Apparently his usual parting was “see you tomorrow you grumpy old sod”.
Your anecdote made my cold old heart MELT. I hope that once your gentleman had recovered from having his foot impaled, he and his son felt more able to talk about their feelings.
As for my own father, I’m getting (slightly) better at telling him…
Meanwhile, your Brexit stash comprises crisps and yarn, you say?? I LIKE your style.
Good, I’m pleased. As for the crisps & yarn, I forgot to mention the wine – feel free to drop in. ????
Oh YES!
*JUMPS IN CAR*
*EVEN THOUGH I DON’T KNOW WHERE YOU LIVE*
*DRIVES, OPTIMISTICALLY*
Aim for the Cotswolds. I’ve hung a big yarny banner out the window weighted down by ???????? bottles. Off to put crisps in a bowl – push like. ????
Aren’t compost deliveries wonderful? One year, I asked for a trailer load of mushroom compost for Christmas. It was as tall as I am when they dumped it in the driveway. It is still one of the best Christmas gift I have ever received – that and the robot vacuum, which is a story for another day but Herbie the vacuum and I are besties.
Yup, I hear you. That sounds like a PERFECT Christmas present.
I did a “DIY in a day” course yesterday. It was utterly brilliant! I learnt all about drills and screws and Rawl plugs. I can now hang a shelf and saw wood. I can make my own raised beds too! Every one here thinks I’m bonkers but I really enjoyed it.
That sounds utterly brilliant! I hope you’re far too busy putting up shelves and building an extension to read this reply!
I envy your beautiful little back yard (“garden” I guess to you Brits). (I’m also guessing it’s little. It looks little in the picture.) I do not envy your (very understandable, regardless of point of view) brexit anxiety. A thought about your mom and dad: tell a story or two that demonstrate how much you appreciate all they did for you. (Once I became a parent, these things were suddenly very obvious to me.) Even consider sharing them in writing, so they can read it over and over. That will express your love in a very tangible way.
Yes, that’s an excellent idea. And we all love stories in my family, so this could work rather well. Thank you.
My family descended from the “stiff-upper-lip” lineage; my mother once told me “Just don’t let anyone know how you really feel, Ann!” When I moved to California from the East Coast I began therapy to help ease my way out of that rigidity and still recall being told, “It’s okay to feel what you feel, Ann!” wow what a concept, the freedom! Then I had to learn to button the loosened lip and not express every little feeling. Now in my eighties I’m fairly well balanced and enjoying the ride. Good luck with your dad – I cannot imagine that he doesn’t know you love him; you’re such a dear person. I suppose a kiss on the cheek would cause way too much of a fuss! never mind
It’s crazy the knots we tie ourselves in, isn’t it? As always, thank you for your warm-hearted comment. I hope that my father knows how I feel about him.
“woman cannot knit on parsnip alone” is, for sure, going to be one of those really famous one-liners someday! I’m secretly keeping my fingers crossed for a miracle that Brexit would be cancelled. Also, I need a cardigan with mismatched buttons! What a genius idea.
???????????????????? to your first point! And yes, I too long for this whole mad, self-destructive, project to be cancelled. Let’s hope, eh?
Congratulations on making your garden boxes! I, too, love power tools and made a few veggie boxes. Bought a small circular saw not too long ago but have yet to figure out how to use it!!
Wow, circular saw = hardcore! I bow to your superior power tool ownership. ????
I love your veggie boxes. So smart! So much easier to get to your plants. Love the whimsy of different buttons. Beautiful cardigan.
Thank you, for ALL of that. ????
I love reading your blog and find your creativity inspirational. As a veggie growing “as-self-sufficient-as-possible” household, I applaud your efforts (and am jealous of your parsnip germination). However may I respectfully ask why you have lined your beautiful boxes with a plastic membrane? If you had just placed them on the soil / grass they would be better able to drain, less prone to water oversaturation and also the worms and invertebrates in the soil would enhance the life of your compost aiding all vegetable growth.
Ask away! ???? It’s a water-permeable, weed-proof membrane, mostly because the entire garden is utterly infested with lesser bindweed, and I couldn’t face pulling the wretched stuff out of the raised beds in addition to the stupid number of hours I waste removing it from thd rest of the garden. It. Drives. Me. CRAZY. And yes, I worry about lack of worms etc, but I’m adding some from elsewhere in the garden and hoping that they like their new home.
Thank you for your kind words about my blog. Meanwhile, may your parsnips ALL germinate and your veg beds be full to bursting with delicious produce.
Planters look fab!