Goodbye January

 Hello dear friends , well I have had a dreadful time this week with flu....it's been a bit of a nightmare actually , with a bad reaction to some pills I was given to take ...  I,m still coughing....but thanks to a good Doctor  , I am still here !  :)
I wont be going to dance class this week or shopping with my good friend ...nor will I be going to spread the nasty flu virus around at church this Sunday . ....although I might just pop in to do the flowers . I think this will be the last week of flowers until Easter now  .
 Anyway I couldn't let the month slip away without mentioning my lovely leeks . Look how well they stand up to the cold and miserable weather .

 Of course  I always make the mistake of trying to pull one up by hand , only to have it snap apart . It's o.k I managed to save the best part of it !

                             It is always better to gently fork up leeks .

  They are a reasonable size......I,m not growing to enter into any show ...these are just perfect for us to eat .

 So I just smarten them up and hasten back into the warmth of my kitchen again .

 I recently came across one of these old Boot Scrapers and snapped it up ..another job to be done when the weather improves .

 Meanwhile the weather and the sea is wild and turning bitterly cold as we slip into February . February and March being our coldest months here .

 There are signs of Spring though if you care to look for them . Pretty raindrops falling from the Sticky buds on the Cornus controversa variegata ..."the Wedding Cake Tree " .

 One of my sweet daughters sent a Tesco crate full of healthy goodies to build me up again .  My other daughter sent  nourishing homemade leek and potato soup .... mmmmmm .... sweethearts both of my lovely girls !
 I have enough citrus fruits to make marmalade , lemon ,n,lime curd , Sticky Lemon Drizzle cake ..maybe ..as well as the obligatory honey and lemon drinks !

 My January Kitchen windowsill .From left to right I have a nice sized specimen of a Leuchtenbergia principis cactus . In the large vase is a Bromliad that finished flowering , it had a large yellow inflorescence ....which I have now removed as it finished . It is putting out shoots and will need re-potting very soon . next back pot is an unknown bulb that I found under a dead plant as I tipped it out to throw away . I re-potted the bulb and here it is coming up . Looks a bit like a Tulip..but maybe it could be a Lily of the Valley . Then all my Pelargonium cuttings the last ones that I did end of Autumn . Then all the Air plants that I still haven,t mounted on hanging wires ,so they are still sitting in the old Hyacinth vases ...and they too are putting out pups ( shoots )  . The air plants have a weekly warm bath ...by the way . So everybody is looking happy and healthy  :)

                                  Wild sea down at Poldhu this evening .
 There was one surfer in amongst the waves this evening  , the sea looked too strong for him we thought .

                                                  Goodbye January !

Stormy weather and Gete-okosomin seeds !

 Yes , we certainly had some severe gales the other night ...the kind that brings down trees ! We spent all day lopping , sawing , chopping up this one that fell down in front of our gate . We had no choice other than to get out there and  get on with it , or we wouldn't get the car out !

 Our backs were aching  , our arms were  hurting as we dragged massive branches up to the heap up in the meadow .

 We had two wheelbarrows on the go . Looking on the bright side we now have plenty of kindling wood .
 I went back to North African and Arabic Dance class the next evening ,which got me feeling much better balanced again . Great to be back ,the Penryn classes have finished over at the Zed Shed and and we're over at Ponsanooth now , a lovely village hall, beautiful floor to dance on and nice to meet all the Ponsanooth belly dancers there ...hope they like us , the Penryn tribe ! :)
 A gentleman came in halfway through asking if this was the Aikido class ....lol !  Did it look like we were doing an Aikido class ?  lol !  lol !  lol !  :)

 Anyway ......after a freezing cold night and we actually had a bit of frost for the first time this year ..I have been sorting out the Gete - okosomin seeds .

 There are lots of seeds , although  , not as many as I had thought there might be in such a giant Squash. This is the biggest one that I grew last year 2017 .
I also have a couple of smaller ones and hopefully there will be more seeds in these ...I want the seeds to go to good homes, I went to a lot  of trouble to  keep them pure , so that they will grow true for you this year .

 I squished and squashed out every last seed and gently washed away all the gooey-ness .
We roasted large chunks of that golden and  orange flesh in with our roast potatoes..and let me tell you ..it is delicious and sweet !   mmmm  !
  The seed have dried off and I have shared them out to three for each person that has asked me for them . I have quite a list !
This afternoon I will be posting them off and I wish all of you who receive them , all the very best of luck in growing them .
 Well it is lovely blue sky here in Mullion today and I,ve hung out all the washing. Next to take the dog for a walk .. have a nice afternoon all !