Weathering the Storms

For those of my readers that are in the UK I hope you weathered the storms with minimal damage and disruption. In my part of Devon we were under an Amber Warning and whilst very blustery I know it could have been so much worse. Apart from debris around the garden I faired well and with this weekend’s dry and sunny weather I have been able to tidy up and even gave the lawn a little cut on the highest setting. I also raked out all the horrible patches of dying moss and once the warmer weather is here will be able to re-seed.

My tomato seeds have all germinated and have popped their little shoots out. Now to stop them going too leggy!  I have just planted my sweet peas and the first sowing of peas (I generally do a small amount once a month during the spring in order to keep a steady supply of them during the summer.

My window sill’s  in the conservatory are rather full, what with my geranium and fushia that I am over wintering.

I finished my macrame wall hanging and have to say the hardest part was creating the flower but I’m relatively happy with it.

Another crafting project I created this week were some sea glass effect coastal vases made from pizza sauce jars, white glue, food colouring and string. A great little project for kids as well as adults. They look lovely on my kitchen island filled with daffodils to celebrate St David’s Day on 1st March which is also one of my childhood friends 60th Birthday.

Last week I gave you ‘A’ in my spices and herbs feature, so guess what I am giving you ‘B’ this week. Now there was a lot to choose from and I would have loved to have done Borage but it just is not the season for it.  I will definitely be getting a borage plant for my garden this year so will hopefully be able to do something then.  I turned to Basil instead, yes I know it’s not unusual or in fact something I have not used before. Basil has been shown to boost your body’s health in a variety of ways. It can help protect against infection, lower your blood sugar, lower your cholesterol, ease joint pain, and protect your stomach. I found a recipe that used it in a way I had never thought of doing. I made a dessert, I know surprising but actually rather pleasant. Fresh basil mousse, the full recipe can be found here

https://www.seriouseats.com/fresh-basil-mousse

Go on give it a try, as long as you like the flavour of basil you won’t be disappointed.

I’m off to Plymouth today to visit Mia and if the weather stays fine, hoping to discover a new area of the city with the dog’s and a new place to have lunch.

Until next week

Chris x