Sunday

I am tired.  Big time TIRED!  I didn’t turn out the light until 5am.  I hate being here on my own at night.  I never sleep until somewhere between 3 and 4am but at least I am more relaxed.  I am on edge when I am home alone.  I watched TV on my lap top.  First off Derren Browns recent programme “hero at 30, 0000 feet.”  That was interesting but a bit weird.  After that I watched the whole of the first series of the Inbetweeners.  I have seen a few episodes at a friend’s house and quite like it.  It is about a group of year 12 teenage boys.  They get up to all the kinds of stuff that you really hope doesn’t go on in real life!  It’s over the top but funny.

Apart from being tired and lethargic I think I am ok.  My nose is still runny but it seems to be an allergy.  Not a cold. I didn’t wake up until just gone ten so by the time I had got up, washed, dressed and cooked my own breakfast it was already half eleven!  Josh was in but has since gone out. Simon should be back at about 7pm.

I walked up to the local shops to get some veg.  Cauliflower, broccoli and carrots for tonight’s dinner.  We still have carrots on the allotment but I can’t get over there without a car.  We’ll have to go in the week if the weather holds. The weather is crappy.  Cold and grey.  No rain here yet though.  I think next week is supposed to be quite wet.  I hope that Simon and Sam haven’t had any rain while they have been away.  They are at the hot rod drags, racing Simon’s car.  I only discovered a week or so back that they actually race it.  I thought they went to watch!  I think I have been left in the dark because Simon knows I wouldn’t like the idea of racing.

I have a cake in the oven.  A banana and yogurt cake which I make quite often.  I added chocolate chips today.  I shall serve it for dessert with cream. Dinner is a boiled bacon joint.  I shall do cauliflower cheese to go with it plus, carrots, broccoli, runner beans and mash. Probably need to start peeling the potatoes soon as I am using up all the tiny ones and they take forever to prepare.

I did go in the garden for a brief while and emptied out a couple of pots which had stocks in them. They have gone to seed now.  I have saved some of the seed for next year although I am not sure how much I liked them really.  They are probably more suited to garden beds rather than pots.

I have planted up 2 herb pots with some herbs that my sister gave me.  There is spearmint, oregano, marjoram, golden oregano, curry plant, purple sage and another one which I forget.  I hope that they will do ok. I’m putting them right by the patio door so they are easy to keep an eye on and to reach when cooking.  I don’t seem to have much luck with outdoor grown herbs.  The only thing that seems to survive outside is rosemary.  I can grow coriander and basil on my windowsill in the kitchen and they do well.  I need to get some compost so I can plant more as I am out of both.

We also need to buy some John Innes number 3 which is what the woman at the rose nursery recommended for the roses.  When we got the ones for Verity’s wedding we asked her about the black spot and falling leaves that is plaguing our little pot grown bushes.  She said it is black spot and sold us a spray for it.  She also sold us rose feed as she said they are hungry!  We have been spraying them every 2 weeks as she said and they are much better but she also told us that they do not do well in multipurpose compost, it has to be the JI3 stuff.  Once they finish flowering we have to re-pot them all.  They are still all in flower.  In fact the deep red ones we got from the auction last year are covered in blooms.

Ok, got to go the oven is beeping away downstairs so my cake should be ready. 

That reminds me........ I have a problem with my oven.  Everything takes way longer to cook than it should.  EG. Fairy cakes which should take 15 mins take at least 30 in my oven.  Today’s cake should take an hour at gas 4. I have had it on gas 5 and it has been in there and hour and a half!  I think the temperature is all screwed.  Simon says buy an oven thermometer so that we can see and then we can put things on higher or for longer!  I don’t need a thermometer, I know it’s not right and I don’t want to have to be messing around trying to make calculations which probably won’t work.  We must be able to have it rest or something??????

 Must go oven still beeping!