Back on my bike baby :-)

You may remember at the start of the year I posted about 'Stack and Whack'? Well they have been sat in my 'To be sewn' pile since then and I got them out again this week.  I trimmed them and laid them out and ummmed and ahhhed and now I've put them away again!

I just can't make them work for me, so they are away until a project appears that needs odd squares that really don't go together..!  It was a good learning guide and I understand a bit more about piecing fabric together - and the importance of chooseing fabric of the same variety (ie all cotton, or all linen etc) and just because I have a navy blue to use, doesn't mean I should because it won't necessarily go!!


Its been a progressive week in terms of the ongoing recovery from my back injury, and I feel like I've made a break through..  finally!!  Its a month on Tuesday for goodness sake!  I can't remember when I last mentioned it (apologies, I know its a frequent theme at the mo, but this is my blog about me so you'll just have to lump it :-) but my toe is s l o w l y getting stronger meaning I am able to run more and more.  I got on the treadmill last Wednesday and did 15 mins without gritting my teeth just to get it done and 7 of those minutes was running!!  I was delighted.  I finished my set on the vereo and my hip was very bad at the end, but fortunately it was night time and sleep fixed it.  After physio on Friday I was cleared for cycling on the road and my heart and my spirits and my very being leap for joy and I went out on my little 10 mile route on Friday night and felt like I'd come home..  but better than that, there was no pain anywhere at any point during or afterwards.  I guess that is the main difference between running and cycling - impact. My toe felt weird I admit, and I had to pedal with my heel more than the front of my foot, but hey, it was a start (another reason for trying out cleats!).  And to put the swirled cream on the top of my fancy cycling cake, I did my best ever time and averaged 13.7 miles an hour.  Whoop whoop!!  This morning (Sunday) I went to the gym and warmed up on the bike and then of the 15 minutes I spent on the treadmill, I ran for 14 of them :-) double last time and I was really pleased with myself.  I finished on the vereo before going for a swim.  The exact same combo I did last Sunday in fact, and last Sunday I took painkillers twice throughout the afternoon - today I've taken none and don't think I will.  Sigh :-)

Anyway!!

Here is the latest on the veg patch:
The leeks are standing proud, if slim, on my windowsill. I had assumed they would get to pencil thickness quite quickly, but apparently not. I may move them to the new cold frame this week or next.

My second sewing of peas are now ginormous and ready to go outside, if anything they are bigger than the little ones already in the patch!! In front of the peas are 5 pots of newly sprout strawberry plants.

And finally finally the Harebell in honor of Niamh is making progress.  Of the 5 pots I planted 2 months ago, 3 have sprouted and they seem quite happy.

Lucy came and gave me some advice re planting and spacing etc on the patch and I have now, despite the rain yesterday, peeled back some of industrial black sacking (the soil underneath is glorious!) and planted 3 rows of parsnips in the middle, 4 rows of carrots on the right and then 7 rows of beetroot on the far right.. Hard to imagine how full the patch is going to get and how different it will look over the coming weeks and months!

She then went on to suggest I re-use the the corregated plastic that the insulation guys mutilated last week and made me a cold frame..  Absolute genius and an idea I would never ever have had!! 

 The courgettes at least are enjoying the cold frame-ness

Soya, Borlotti, Flageolet, French bean, water melon and little gem lettuce.. The amazing Lucy also pointed out that we could try and grow protein, as well as veg... Such a goooood idea!

She is very self depreciating, but anyone reading this who knows Lucy will agree that her knack for such green fingered-ness is uncanny and I am so grateful for her help.  Thank you Lucy xxxxx

Niamh is walking properly and there is no stopping her.  We went to the Vineyard annual church weekend yesterday and she didn't have a nap, so how her little body kept her up and walking all day and into the evening I don't know.. But like the gorgeous tank that she is, she just kept going.  Paul gave them all breakfast this morning, when I was at the gym, and I loved how thrilled he was that she came waddling in with the biglets when he called them to eat.  She is no longer a baby and is definitely a small child who expects to be treated the same as her big brother and sister.. well, most of the time :-)

I got an email through during the week, from the Yoga Sanctuary and it was advertising a Sacred Woman workshop -

You are a Woman, you are a cyclic being.Have you always suspected there is more to your menstrual cycle than just biology?
Ever considered there is an inner wisdom trying to speak to you through your cycle?

Sarah invites you to discover and deepen into the amazing spiritual resources of your cyclical female body:

Saturday 19^th May 2.00 – 5.00pm

In this inspiring one-off workshop we will reconnect with the meaning and intelligence of the menstrual cycle as we explore how to harvest its power and wisdom.

This workshop is open to all women who are called to rediscover the Deep Sacred Feminine Wisdom within - whether you experience regular or irregular periods, whether you are experiencing the menopause or post, ALL will be enriched through the wisdom shared!
Something about it sent shivers up my spine and I have booked on..  A bit random, a bit mad perhaps, but I shall obviously report back once I've been.

And lastly, Holls, pink toes are sooooooo the way forward and I think after 4 days you agree - however secretly :-) x x

Right!  I am off!!  The weather outside is hideous and we are all set to snuggle down and watch 'cats and dogs' - very apt!  byeeee x