Things to put in the compost heap......
People who are consistently late – they are rude!
Cup cakes – the world is full of them now
Politicians who do not answer the questions asked
Any gadget which makes more washing up
Paint charts – what colour is Sierra Sunset?
Anything that is supposedly ‘free’ but requires £4.50 postage
Christmas Newsletters - Imogen’s 10 A stars makes me feel inadequate
People who don’t take responsibility for their own actions
Most processed food except Bird's custard and Knorr stock cubes
More of those twiggy bits - use the shredder more!
Things to nurture in the propagator:
Our premium bonds
Doc’s porridge – can’t get enough of it
Shops which stock locally sourced, quality food
The heirloom quilt I have planned in my head
Good nursing and residential care for the elderly
A cure for dementure/Alzheimers
My body – its joints in particular
World Peace - in honour of Sandra Bullock in Miss Congeniality
Kindness
Equal amounts of flowers to crops
To Do in the Garden:
Sit down, enjoy the view and relax
Plant more colour, colour, colour!
Take more note of the diversity of the wildlife (but not the slugs)
Think about what we have achieved, not what there is to do
Log the date of the first daffodil every year
Take more photographs
Dance in fallen leaves before bagging them up
Sing as if there is no-one listening
Bury a time capsule
Plant a tree for everyone I have loved and lost
My storecupboard: This is cannot be a top ten because I need to be able to feed an army should they drop by one day. However, before my list, I must quote a lovely poem I used to read to the smalls. It is in the book: The Teddy Bears Go Shopping by Susanna Gretz and Alison Sage:
"Ice cream and peas, soap and cheese, cereal, buns and bubblebath. Marmalade and pears, toothpaste for bears. Mustard and custard and carrots. And DOGFOOD."
NOD (Number One Daughter) is 26 and I can still remember the poem and can also remember her, aged 2, screaming in the supermarket because I would not buy dogfood. (Our black lab had not yet arrived on the scene.) Anyway, I like shopping lists and make one every week. My storecupboard list that follows is not exhaustive. But I do like tightly packed pantry shelves. Just in case.
Pasta, rice (brown, basmati, risotto, pudding), dried beans/pulses (cannelloni beans, haricot beans, green and red lentils), tinned tomatoes, flour (plain, SR flour, bread flour, cornflour, cornmeal, oatmeal), custard powder, stock cubes (Knorr), herbs and spices, vinegar (dark and white malt, red and white, sherry, balsamic), oil (sunflower, virgin and extra virgin olive), chocolate (70% cocoa solids), fats (margarine, butter, Trex), porridge oats, baking powder, mustards, instant gravy (such guilt!), salt and pepper, Worcestershire sauce, dried fruits, soy sauce, honey, long life/dried milk, couscous, dried yeast, seeds (pumpkin, sesame, poppy, caraway), pine kernels, nuts (ground almonds, flaked almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts), black treacle, golden syrup , frozen peas, canned sweetcorn, tuna fish, canned salmon.
My Favourite Flowers
Sweet Peas
Lilies
Roses
Freesias
Daffodils
Honeysuckle
Magnolia
Cherry Blossom
Primroses
Aliums
My Favourite Vegetables
French Beans
Tomatoes
Courgettes
Parsnips
Carrots
Beetroot
Butternut Squash
Leeks
Asparagus
Potatoes
My Favourite Herbs
Rosemary
Thyme
Parsley
Dill
Coriander
Lavender
Mint
Lemon Verbena
Chives
Basil
My Top Ten Tools
Scissors
Trowel
Secateurs
Hoe
Tub Trug
Kneeling Mat
Watering Can
Ladies Spade
Apple Wizard
Unheated Propagator
