momentuous times

I've got the radio on, listening intermittently to news of Barack Obama's inauguration. Big big deal.

I've got the entire house to myself for the whole day. Big big deal.

I am cleaning the study. It is a very small room, our study, described as a sunroom when we bought the house. In it we have my computer, FH's computer, my sewing machine, my craft stuff, all of FH's books, all of FH hobby/craft things, important papers, anything we don't the children to touch AND A TRULY PHENOMENAL AMOUNT OF RUBBISH. I can't clean it effectively with small people in the house as it does require removing the toddler gate. I have filled two black sacks already and I'm gunning to fill another. Perhaps by the end of the mission I will be able to find the tape measure. Today AND each subsequent time that I want to use it.

I'm only cleaning my side of it. We like being married, Favourite Handyman and I. That's why we don't tidy each other's mess if throwing out is part of the tidying process.


I did imagine writing or gardening all day but when the day dawned I decided to create some space where I could think and write and sew and knit for the rest of the year. Good luck to me. This is my lunch break. I'm not even hungry which is an odd sign all by itself.

Three quarters of the way up the hall is lined with boxes removed from my half of the study. Which need to be dealt with. There are more boxes to go into the hallway yet. I need to get a lot more ruthless yet. By the end of this there will be no excuse for not fixing the sewing machine. To give myself some kind of encouragement I am getting rid of lots of the clothes which need fixing. I don't want to spend all year playing Frugal Mother Seamstress.

Dig for victory

Well perhaps not in the dark of night. Indeed I am writing when everyone else is in bed asleep and it is very early morning and it is brilliant. Mothering has called for some odd hours lately but here, finally, I have had an hour knitting, reading the net and eating. all-by-myself-without-interruptions.

And I've found, via Beansprout's excellent guide, how to put a dig for victory badge on my blog. Digging for victory is a wonderful concept and we're all for it at our house. Yesterday I was out walking through a nearby new housing estate. I observed (amongst the for sale signs which have sat for months now) several people landscaping their new sections, unloading tasteful grasses and shrubs from their tasteful cars so that their new house can look established. Instantly. No need for the love engendered by growing from seed, or tiny seedlings. I didn't really consider saying "Haven't you people been reading the news? You should be planting a vege garden, not grasses!" out loud to them, but I did think it.

While I waited for my toast, I was thinking about growing things. I opted not to think about the mice which are probably multiplying - we have at least one clever one now who flipped the trap upside down without being caught yesterday. I watched a spider weaving it's web on the outside of the window, illuminated against the dark by the kitchen lightbulb. I rinsed my alfalfa and radish sprouts out and wondered why I'd never grown sprouts in our tiny flat in Barking (London) where even a cactus didn't grow in the kitchen window. Sprouts could lift the soul of the most cramped city dweller and yet I never thought of them then.

This time alone is really nice. And it may give me some zen later in the day. I've missed my son all term and yet I've been floored by how grumpy I've been with my children now the holidays have started. Then late yesterday I remembered that the begininning of the school holidays are always odd for us (our whole family is involved in school stuff) and that by day three things are more fun. Day three starts in another hour round here.

Gardening goals for the day: stake the broad beans OR tidy and plant something in the old zucchini patch OR make a frost shelter structure for the tamarillo plant OR make some frost/wind shelter for selected swiss chard to see if it goes through the winter that way better than the non protected plants. I have swiss chard everywhere, so plenty of options.

House goals: Get rid of cobwebs and flotsam round the window above our bed and measure it up and work out how/exactly where to place a curtain track. There is a pelmet and an existing blind and I want to add the curtain without removing either pelmet or blind.

Use up the cupboard goals: sushi. I looked for ginger recipes. Our ginger is not super fresh, but dried, so I think we'll have ginger-less sushi. No doubt I can use up some of the odd flours making more banana muffins. Thank you to Stephanie who posted some suggestions of dishes I'd never heard of in a recent post which I'm going to look up and try. So long as every day involves eating something on my list (or one of the numerous flours languishing which didn't make it to the original list), then I'm happy that we are progressing.

Which reminds me. While out googling earlier this week, I found this site on food waste. Seemed interesting and pertinent to my latest project.