A Fresh Start

We stand at the beginning of the year
Full of hope and good intentions.
The old year gone, our spirits stir
And throw away those last-year tensions.

Bring on the new, embrace it all.
Expand the mind, the heart, the soul.
Go forward, not afraid to fall.
There's every chance you'll reach your goal.

Happy New Year everyone! Very best wishes for good health and happiness in 2023.

Christmas was lovely . I hope yours was too.

Christmas dinner was so enjoyable! Cooking it was a pleasure with all the lovely aroma, a glass of sherry and Handel’s “Messiah” in the background. My festive flan was as delicious as ever, the parsnips were sweet and the roast potatoes were crisp and golden. Eaten with copious helpings of my cranberry sauce. A winning combination for us.

The Christmas cake is going down a treat and chocolates are my big temptation . I’ve been over-indulging so my New Year resolution is to go back to healthy eating and lose some weight. I say this every year!! Perhaps in another week!

Around Christmas I love to think about my gardening needs for next year, so I sorted my seed packets. I have loads. Can’t resist buying seeds, even though I might never use some of them. That wonderful promise contained in those tiny specks is so exciting. I made a list of what I have and I think it’s complete.

I usually buy smaller packets now, to ensure I use fresh seed, but I do find some leftover ones are too good to throw away. Especially peas and beans. They keep well and usually come in generous amounts greater than our needs. I only grow a few plants of our favourite vegetables. I don’t see the point in growing enormous amounts and we haven’t got exotic tastes. I grow familiar vegetables for satisfying and nutritious meals, and make sure I have something to harvest all year round. That keeps me happy as a gardener and a cook.

I will grow more “Autumn King” carrots this year. They’re an old variety with a delicious flavour and grow big if I remember to sow the seed thinly so they’re not overcrowded. I still have plenty in the polytunnel, along with parsnips and celeriac.

The sprout plants were hopeless last year. For some reason, they just didn’t grow and the sprouts were few and very tiny. Had to buy some for my festive flan. Not bad but not quite as sweet as little homegrown ones. Must do better this year.

Kale is a good Winter standby. Full of goodness, tasty and reliable. I prefer the less curly one called “Red Winter” or “Red Russian”, which recovers well after hard frosts. It has a purple tinge to the stems and frilly green leaves. Always tender when steamed or stir-fried.

In the flower garden, the hellebores are budding. I have the oriental ones which do better in my garden than Heleborus niger, the one people call the “Christmas Rose”. I have a lovely cream, oriental one which starts budding in October and is now flowering really well. A welcome sight in my tired, dreary, Winter garden.

Bulbs are showing little green tips just peeping out of the soil. A few snowdrops are pushing up and showing flower buds.

Apart from tidying the polytunnels, it’s been too wet for gardening. Even my camera is having a rest because the garden offers little in the way of photo opportunities at this time of year, although I try to find other points of interest when flowers are not freely available.

When I can’t go out in the garden and there’s no need to bake, my fingers start itching to do some knitting. I like to buy yarn in sales and keep it for a rainy day. Some of it I’ve had for years but it’s good to have supplies ready when I feel creative. Then I find a suitable pattern and start those needles clicking. I’m knitting a jumper in lovely colours. The yarn is a bit chunky so knits nice and quickly and it’s 50 percent wool so it’s warm. I think it will be lovely to wear.

I hope you’ve also found a few quiet moments to be creative.

Have you managed to use up the Christmas food? There is a tendency for us all to overstock at Christmas, just in case! Sometimes it takes a lot of imagination to keep coming up with innovative ideas rather than waste all that excess. I expect the turkey and ham have gone by now. With a lot of pleasure, I should think. My festive flan provided us with Boxing Day lunch as well, so a nice relaxing day after all the activity.

All over for another year. Onwards and upwards now with New Year resolutions and a fresh start. Good luck, everyone. With you again next week. Bye for now.