holidays ...

Crikey, it's amazing what holidays can do. I've cleaned even more today. The house is in such a nearly good state that I would invite people in for dinner on the spur of the moment.

I feel ill to think of how many clothes my daughter has. When I put the Christmas decorations away this afternoon I found another bag half full of size 2 (and other half of size 3) girls' clothes. Some of them are new, presents from when she was firstborn and others are handed down. Her drawers are already bulging. It's just not right that half of the world is starving and another big chunk of the world's workers eke out a pittance doing criminally long hours in terrible conditions in order to make more clothes than my daughter could wear in a month. Just as I've done with her brother's too many clothes, I'll be making up bags for friends, acquaintances and the Sallies very soon.

I've been tidying up the concrete path end of the old chook run this afternoon. You didn't expect me to stay inside cleaning all day did you? Well not even all afternoon - we spent the morning supping tea and gingerbread biscuits at a friend's house. I thought there was an odd shape to the garden at that end but actually there is not. There was just so much soil sitting on the concrete that things were growing in it. Weeds. So that is all gone and I've transplanted three thymes from another bed into the spaces around the bay trees. The bays, or one of them at least, has grown noticeably since I moved them from pots into the garden.

So I've pulled most of the thyme and welsh onions from the second raised bed now. Once I've got everything out of there, I think I'll move some existing compost in, add the chook poo which needs to be cleared from the coop right now and then put the next lot of lawn clippings on top. I want that area very fertile in readiness for growing winter brassicas in it. Maybe I'll add blood and bone and lime and sheep poo and comfrey as well. In with a penny, in with a pound.