Front of house

About 18 months ago, bored and with nothing to do, I made a comment about the front garden. So the wife says, well why don't you sort it yourself.  I have to say it was a bit of a mess. There was a huge Fuschia bush that just grew everywhere, lots of spanish bluebells and many weeds. Against the house wall was just one small nondescript bush that I still don't know what it's called.

We started with a bush on the corner of the house but it still looked awful. Various plants have gone in over the last 10 years but I didn't like them so now I've done my own thing.

I started by trimming the bush on the corner and making it look presentable. The little box hedge below it got a haircut as well (social distancing was obeyed, lol) and now it looks ok.

Then I dug out the whole of the corner nearest the pavement, took as many roots as I could find out and planted it with low growing conifers etc. I love Rosemary as a bush and planted that as well. A few large rocks that we had were placed randomly and I think it looks pretty good. I keep getting the odd fuschia root poking through but up it comes.

Last summer I planted a hydrangea bush and it's doing quite well. Although the fron of the house is covered in gravel, there's some decent soil underneath and I feed the plants regularly

Then late last year I moved a climbing rose that wasn't doing very well, planted it in front of the window on a trellis and it's already going great guns. We've had a few lovely white flowers off it but it's going to need a bit more traininig around the trellis and by next summer it should look beautiful. I'm very pleased with it all. Maybe I'll get a second rose but haven't decided yet.

Garden Furniture

So the last time I wrote I was in the middle of sanding down my garden furniture and restaining it. I had completed the chairs and the bench and the all came up pretty good. Hard work in the hot weather we were having but worth it in the end.

Both chairs and the bench were dismantled, sanded down within an inch of their life and given a lovely new coat of natural cedar stain.

Once the first coat was dry (takes about 3 or 4 hours depending on weather) it was time to reassemble ready for the second coat




















Then finally, all together with a 3rd coat of stain and ready to last another few years. One year of protecion for each coat so the makers say.



The problems started to arrive when it was time to take the table apart. Unfortunately, where the slats were dowelled underneath, moisture had seeped into the joints and the wood had gone soft and in some places started to rot.

After sanding a bit more of the table down on top I then discovered that a corner of the table had actually split and unfortunately there was nothing I could do to repair it. 

I wasn't too upset as this table and chair set have given about 15 years good service. The main problem now was to decide on what table we would buy to replace it. The last one was good solid heavy hardwood and if I could get the same table it was going to cost. No chance of visiting any shops, so it was online we go and trawl through the different sites. My god, so many different garden tables ranging in price from the very cheap £25 to the really expensive, over a £1000. Eventually, on reccomendation I had a look at the IKEA web page and lo and behold, there it was. On offer at a £110. Of course then you had to add delivery because there was none available in store to "click & collect", naturally, and the delivery charge is a whopping £40. It kind of put me off and I was going to wait until places started to open again but my daughter said she had an Ikea Family card, brilliant, add the card number in and a big £25 discount. I could live with that. So last week the table arrived, delivered by a nice young man who even lifted it over the back gate for me. 

So easy to assemble, came with full, easy to read instructions, all the nuts and bolts were there and although the instructions suggested two people to assemble it, I managed it easily on my own. Just laid it upside down on the flattened out cardboard boxes and it took me just under the hour.

It's slightly different from the last table, that was 50ins X 28ins. The new one is 48 ins square so we can actually sit 8 people around it. We are really pleased with it, and although I will probably have to sand and stain it next year, one because it's darker than the rest of the furniture and two, because the stain on it at the moment is very light and won't take many knocks. To be fair it's only to be expected given the price, but a job well done I say.

Now we're set for the rest of the summer and even the cat approves.  Next project, well that's the front garden that needs a bit of a tidy. Not allowed in the back garden as that belongs to the wife.

Succesful Weight Loss

It has taken me 5 months, starting on January 6th this year to today's weigh in to get down tonear where I want to be and to be officially declared a "healthy weight".

Probably, like many others of a similiar age, as we have got older, the waist line may have thickened a little and the weight has crept on. Since Marlene and I both retired, the work load has gone down and the leisure time increased which meant that all those calories we used to burn off, stayed with us. So, in January this year we decided that we would go on a controlled eating regime. Not quite a diet as such, but more reducing portion size and cutting out a lot of the snacks.

We have always ate healthy, haven't used many processed foods for years as we tend to cook from scratch. We used a program called "My Fitness Pal" which allows us to see what calories we should consume and track them, plus sugars, carbs, sodium and salt etc through what we eat.

It's easy to use and it has worked very successfully. We still have our glass of wine on the weekend, we still enjoy the occasional bar of chocolate and we bake a cake and it lasts us the week for "elevenses.

A little bit of exercise, which normally means a 20/30 minute walk once or twice a day and voila, I have now lost 9.75kilograms of useless weight from my tummy and jowls. Plus I feel much better and can bend over and cut my toenails without struggling, lol.

We shall continue in the same way until I meet my target weight of 13 1/2 stone, so just over 5 pounds to go. Then of course will be the real test, can I keep it off. We shall see.

Motorcycling with Social Distancing

Hooray, the government have given us permission to ride or drive to where we want to exercise. So on Tuesday a friend and I decided to interpret the rules and get our bikes out.

We met at a local pub car park in Fareham and set off, just the two of us. I had planned the route previously to take in all the scenic roads avoiding motorways and busy "A" roads. So the route took us into Wickham and then along the A32 to West Meon. In better times we would have stopped at a motorcycle cafe called "Loomies". On warm and sunny days you can find up to 200 bikes there at any one time and as some leave others arrive. Today though, it was deserted as they have had to close until this is all over.

Straight across the junction, still on the A32 heading for Alton. Just outside Alton there's a lovely big layby where we were able to stop and have a coffee, brought with us in our flasks. Then it was on to Alresford, with a ride by the Memorial Park, although we didn't stop. I remembered from my Co-op days that there was a big house just outside the town and a large pull off that we could use to stop for lunch and so that's what we did. Ham sandwiches and a coffee, all brought from home.

 A lovely place as you can see, green fields and a blue sky. I must confess to slightly breaking social distancing rules to take a selfie but we kept our gear on so no risk of contamination. Gary has just had a test anyway and he came back negative and I have no symptons.

Then it was off again to Temple Valley, some lovely roads, just made for biking. Clear and winding, not too fast, just enough for you to appreciate the speed. As we both ride cruisers, there's no throwing the machine around corners, we tend to take a more sedate 60mph. Fast enough for us oldies. There was a few pedal cyclists out also but we gave them plenty of room and as there was little other traffic we were all able to enjoy the roads.

So this is the route we took. About 100 miles which took us just over 3 hours, what with stops etc. On the way to Temple Valley I switched on my camera and managed to take a short video of the ride. Apologies for the video editing and music as I am just getting used to doing it. (You might want to turn your volume down slightly) 

Shoreline Walk

With all this lovely weather and the fact that we can now get out and about as often as we would like, the wife and I decided to start varying our walking routes.
We have walked these before but not for a number of weeks. So today it was a very short drive up to the football and recreation ground which borders the estuary. Unfortunately the tide was out but it didn't stop people trying out their paddle boards and canoes/kayaks as well as a number of other walkers. Good thing about it was that it's a huge open space so social distancing is not a problem, Plus, people around here have got quite used to it and step aside for you to pass or simply wait until you have gone by.

 

We started off by a local boatyard which is where some youngsters were practising their paddle board skills. Not with a huge amount of success I must admit, however they were doing better than I would have. As I say, the tide was out so lots of smelly seaweed on view.

Then it was turn right and meander up the shoreline, The Spinnaker tower was well outlined across the water and looked pretty good.

Further up there were a number of boats/yachts tied up, maybe their owners were awaiting the tide to turn. It was a beautiful day and a lovely walk. Only about an hour but it gets us out for some exercise. 

Daily Walk

Today we decided to vary our walk. Normally it's out of our road, through the park around the estate and back home. This is because the pavements are wide and you can easily pass others without invading their space. However, we needed to clear the heads and wanted different scenery, so we took a chance for a walk along the shoreline and around the castle.








We started off with a walk down the aptly named Castle Street but branched off through a little lane which follows the shoreline. On the way, stopping to admire a lovely little daisy.


There's a lot of industry down the one side of the estuary but it's quite interesting and the views are quite good. Shame the tide wasn't fully in but it didn't matter too much.







It's quite a long walk, or rather stroll, a few miles and fortunately we didn't meet too many people coming the other way. Lots of passing places though so no problems. Wasn't long before the castle came into view and obviuosly we had to stop for the obligatory photos. Must have hundreds by now but never tire of taking them.

Still it was a pleasant day and although it wasn't that warm, neither was it cold. Once past the castle the track gets quite narrow but everyone we met along the way was quite happy to wait for us, or we waited for them. Lots of dogs and little children but everyone doing thier very best to conform to social distancing.

 Finally, it was right down to the waters edge past a field of crows and on our way home. A lovely afternoon stroll of about 3 or 4 miles. Just what we needed

Cycle around the Shore

The other day, the wife (Marlene) and I decided that we needed to branch further afield with our cycles. We bought them to use with the camper van, however, when we sold the van they sort of got left in the garage. With the enforced Lockdown, a perfect time to get them out and start enjoying, a, the cycles and b, the shoreline so close to us.

So off we set, up the main road towards Fareham and then a turnoff up to Cams Hall Golf Course. The cycle/walking track then heads off around the edges of the golf course, keeping to the shoreline.

It's more of an estuary than a shore,









but it's quite pretty and at just 5 miles, the right distance for us to start on. While I am quite used to riding longer distances, Marlene hasn't done more than a mile or two in the last year and needs to build up her strength. We've also discovered that she needs a more comfortable saddle. Hers is more suited to a racing bike rather than the genteel rides we do.

All in all it was a lovely ride, we took the cameras with us and managed a few nice shots as well as meeting similiar minded people along the way. Unfortuantely only able to nod and say hello but maybe when all this is over we can stop and chat more as we definitely intend to continue cycling. It's pleasant out in the fresh air, gets us fit and more interesting things to see.

New Recipe

Happy Easter everyone. Bored now, ran out of paint for the garden furniture and difficult to get anymore. Have a few ideas but none come to fruition yet. However the wife gave me a new recipe the other day so I tried that out instead. It's a simple Weetabix cake and it tastes yummy.


Weetabix Fruit Loaf

Makes one 800g loaf

2 weetabix + 1/2 weetabix for topping
170g Caster Sugar
227g wholemeal self-raising flour (I used white flour)
85g seedless raisins
85g mixed peel and currants  (I used 170g mixed fruit)
200ml semi-skimmed milk

METHOD

Crush the 2 weetabix into fine even crumbs
Add the other ingredients and mix well
Blend the milk in fairly slowly until well incorporated
Turn the mixyure into a greased loaf tin 20 x 10 7.5cm
Level the top and then crush the remaining 1/2 weetabix and sprinkle over the top of the mixture
Bake at 190 degrees C for 1 hour or until a thick skewer comes out clean
Cool in the tin for 15 minutes and then turn out onto a wire tray and leave to cool complete
Wrap and store in the cupboard for 8 - 12 hours (It's worth the wait

AND ENJOY