Thursday 7 January 2010

A Belated Happy New Year


I really didn't mean to leave it so long to update my blog. I have had flu right through Christmas and New Year, and only now am I starting to feel that I am on the mend. Not that I would have been able to do any gardening. The snow which we had before Christmas hung around right through the festive season, turning to ice, and then on Tuesday we had a very heavy snow fall again. The kids were sent home from school, but although it snowed again yesterday, they were expected in, much to their disappointment. The poor birds have had their house decorated with snow, and as you can see, there isn't a scrap for them to eat either. You'll be pleased to know that that has now been rectified and the bird table is adorned with all manner of goodies.

I thought I should update you on my Christmas potato experiment. I had saved a couple of Kestrel tubers, which I planted in spring, and kept them in the salad drawer in the fridge. In late summer I planted these in a container and as the colder weather appeared, they were moved into the greenhouse for protection. The aim was to eat my home grown new potatoes on Christmas day. Owing to me having flu it was up to my hubby to empty the container on Christmas Eve and find the treasure. There were quite a few potatoes but they weren't very big. There was only just enough for the four of us to have some with our Christmas dinner, but they did taste delicious. I will definitely grow them again this way, in fact I have already ordered some tubers which will be delivered around July, specifically for planting up ready for Christmas. This year I will plant them earlier to see if I can get them to grow a little bigger, and also plant more.

The sun is out here today but it's bitterly cold and the snow is turning to ice. It seems that most of the country is suffering with the weather. Let's hope that the weather improves for the rest of 2010 and we manage to get a good growing season this year. I wish you a happy, healthy and prosperous 2010.


16 comments:

  1. What bad luck getting flu over Christmas. I hope you're feeling better now. But like you say at least it didn't make you miss out on any gardening!

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  2. Happy New Year to you too Jo!

    Sorry to hear you had flu over Christmas and New Year but hope you are well on the mend now.

    It's great that your Christmas Day potato experiment worked - I'm tempted to try it myself for this year.

    Keep safe and warm.

    Jeanne x

    PS. I have a splash of colour on my blog today - getting bored with white!;)

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  3. Lovely to see a new post from you Jo. I hope you continue to feel better, and it will soon be spring Hurrah !! and then we will all be busy sowing and planting. The potatoes for Christmas experiment sounds like a good idea.
    All the best
    Maureen x

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  4. Glad to read that your feeling much better.

    Happy New Year to you too.

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  5. HI Jo nice to see you posting again and I'm happy to hear you are on the mend.

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  6. Jo,
    You're not alone in dealing with the cold and snow; we're having similar weather conditions here in Chicago. Sorry to hear you were down with the flu for so long... it wasn't H1-N1 was it? Happy 2010 to you, too!

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  7. It’s great to see your blog updated! Too bad you had the flu, but hopefully you are now up and ready for soon-to-come spring gardening.

    Great news about potato experiment!

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  8. Glad to hear your spuds were a sucess...It's always nice to achieve something like this...I had the intentions on doing this but never got around to it...maybe this christmas!!!

    Glad to hear you are on the mend...wishing for warmer weather!!!!

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  9. Jo, I wondered why you hadn't blogged for a while. Sorry it was because of flu and glad you are now over it. Your snow-covered bird feeder is amazing to me, having grown up in England and not remembering that much snow! Wishing you a HEALTHY 2010. Pamela x

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  10. I'm feeling much better now, Rachael. It was a little odd being ill over Christmas though, it doesn't really feel like Christmas ever happened.

    Thank you, Jeanne. Yes, definitely have a go at the Christmas potato experiment this year.

    It doesn't feel like spring will be here soon, Maureen. We've still got snow. I hope it warms up soon.

    Thank you, Mangocheeks. It's nice to see you here.

    Thank you, Kella.

    Hope your weather starts to improve soon, Avis. I can't remember the last time we had so much snow. I'm not entirely sure if I had Swine Flu or if it was just seasonal flu. They've stopped testing for H1-N1 and just give out anti-virals if you're showing the symptoms, however, I didn't speak to the doctor until I had had the symptoms for over a week so they wouldn't prescribe the anti-virals anyway.

    I certainly am up and ready for some spring gardening, Vrtlarica. It's just a shame that spring seems so far away with all the snow we're having over here.

    I remember your intentions of doing the potato experiment, Tanya. You must have a go this year.

    Thank you, Pam. I remember having snow like this when I was a child, but not since. My kids who are 14 and 11 have never seen so much snow, and certainly none which has lasted as long.

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  11. So glad you are feeling better. It's frustrating to be ill during Christmas. I'm so glad you got to eat your own potatoes for Christmas. The snow on the bird feeder brings back nice memories for me, now a southland dweller.

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  12. Hi Jo, thanks for your comments on my blog. It sounds like you are having a similar time to us with the weather. Hubby was on his way to Leeds this morning and ended up turning around after only travelling 5 miles in 2 hours! Looking forward to keeping up with your blog. Natalie.

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  13. Yes, it was very frustrating to be ill over Christmas, Mary Delle. I enjoy the snow when it is fresh, but I hate it when it gets all slushy.

    Thanks for visiting, Natalie. Yes, there's still alot of disruption with the snow. We had a taxi skid into the back of the car on Monday, luckily there isn't alot of damage.

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  14. A most happy and healthy new year to you Jo. May all your lottie crops prosper in 2010. Sorry to hear that you got the dreaded flu over Christmas but glad that you were able to eat your special spuds :)

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  15. So sorry you were ill over Christmas. But congratulations on your Christmas potatoes!

    Did you find Christmas more or less relaxing because you will ill? I have to confess that when I was in bed a few years ago it was the most relaxing Christmas of my post-children adult life!!

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  16. Thank you, Anna. I was determined not to miss out on my Christmas spuds.

    Christmas was relaxing, Linda. We usually have my mum and dad over on Christmas day but it had already been arranged that they weren't coming this year, a good job really seeing as how I was feeling.

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