Of bread and plants

[toothycat]

I'm told I don't post enough, and given this is an LJ belonging to two people, that's a bit damning. So here's one of those more or less completely pointless posts detailing what I did today.


Let me see, we went to church, then went on to buy various bits at big stores. Like a hoover. Boring, but very useful - our previous one packed it in last week, and we couldn't find the receipt. This one's been scanned - the receipt, I mean, not the hoover! Anyway, after the hoover we went down to Scotsdales Garden Centre where I bored Moonshadow silly by investigating apple trees. We are getting one next week. It's a funky one with three varieties on it, with the added bonus of being self-fertilising. It had 'easy maintenance' on it, which may as well have said 'apple tree for noobs' - that's good, because I'm not very knowledgeable about gardens in general, never mind fruit trees. So it will arrive a week on Wednesday, which is the day I get back from Boston, and I will work off (or through) jetlag by digging an enormous hole in our lawn. I also insisted on buying another honeysuckle - the last one died, so I'm hoping for better this time. We have a lovely trellis on the wall just waiting for it.

After all that, we had soundslikebuuu, sonia_leong and fayeyong round for podcasting, having tea, chatting and eating cinnamon raisin bread out of my breadmaker. The poor thing's hardly had a break since I got it a couple of weeks ago. I love the bread when it's just out, all fluffy, hot and sweet ^^ It was a nice relaxed afternoon, and I did no comicking, which wasn't intentional but was a nice change.

Then in the evening I went back to the garden and chopped a whole lot of lavender, making room for my rose to breathe. Then I noticed the rose had aphids, so I sprayed it. I also chopped bushes, pulled up ivy, noticed we have a thriving bunch of wild strawberry plants, and dug two big holes, one for my honeysuckle, and one for Robert the rhododendron, which was a birthday gift. I really hope they both survive! I finished by liberally covering the patio with Miracle Gro thanks to the leaky feeder, and finally spending half an hour scrubbing my fingers to get the blue off. I now feel very virtuous. I probably won't do anything in the garden for another three weeks ^^;;

We're watching Berserk at the moment. It's an excellent series, properly old-school shonen and with plenty of character and plot, as well as lots of gory battles. I usually end up watching two episodes instead of one, because I'm enjoying it so much :)

Comments

[pinkapplejam.livejournal.com]

Mmm bread :) I will have to try some if you have some going after I've reached my target weight, or I can eat "around" it (bread is evil for me, as delicious as it is!!!) XD

Bezerk sounds awesome!

[cathedral-life.livejournal.com]

I don't know if you'll like it, but you might try making malt loaf (with raisins). You'll need to buy the malt from a chemist or similar shop. It is heavier bread, but really good!

[carol-begg.livejournal.com]

There was a bread involving raisins AND cinnamon AND hot yumminess and I wasn't a part of it??? I bet there was even butter... (;_;)
(^^) sounds yummy, I've never made bread. The apple tree cometh!

[studio-withbits.livejournal.com]

Oh wow - you're getting a tree with more than one variety on it. I wanted one of those!! Instead I've got 2 cordons which need a lot of watering!

I recommend 'The Kitchen Gardener' by Alan Titchmarsh for all edible plant maintenance - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Kitchen-Gardener-Grow-Your-Fruit/dp/1846072018 - only book you'd ever need and it has virtually all fruit,veg and herbs covered.


hmmm cinnamon raisin bread.

[denji.livejournal.com]

homemade bread is amazing, there's soemtihng so warm and satisfying about it =) you cna always try out so amnhy different recepies as wlel. there's notihng nicer than chillaxing out with warm, fresh bread =D

also, i really love beserk, it's a great manga/anime- i've never seen the anime but i hear it's a rather good adaption. i tihnk you can tell it's really good, because the manga at least is 27 volumes still going, and even i am addicted and fully entertained =D!(and i find it hard to be entertained by that sort of thing) i think i love the art style,detail, extremely cool battles and interesting relationships between the characters~

[aneiryn.livejournal.com]

Wow - I've never actually tried baking my own bread, tho I love baking. Sounds awesome that you can eat it straight out of the breadmaker, fresh and warm ^^

with the added bonus of being self-fertilising.

[mathewjpallett.livejournal.com]

Don't apple trees (& most trees in general) produce their nutrients through photosynthesis in the summer? But the real problem happens if when Autumn arrives & you've forgotten about the tree, you could find your garden littered with apples...

The leaves of the tree are also susceptible to heat, so barbecuing in close proximity to the tree is unadvised. I know this because I went into the garden yesterday to discover dead leaves at the foot of the large Walnut Tree which I found odd, until I noticed that most of the branches on the side of the tree facing me had no leaves, I then remembered that someone had lit a bonfire during the previous week. Despite being over two metres away, some of the leaves of the Apple tree had started to turn brown at the tip. Plus you avoid having anything fall out of the tree & onto whatever is being cooked!

Re: with the added bonus of being self-fertilising.

[toothycat]

By 'self-fertilising' I mean it pollinates itself, not that it somehow produces the nutrients it needs. It'll be fine with that, it'll be in a mature garden. Plenty of leaf mush ^^

It won't be anywhere near a barbecue. Barbecues happen near the house. Trees need to be some distance away.

[theorah.livejournal.com]

Apple Trees are lovely in the spring, I see the apples as an added bonus, because the big fluffy blossom in the spring is so pretty it doesnt matter wether you get apples or not!
I really like gardening and growing plants, I get a satisfied feeling when I see my hard work paying off!
I remember saying that Beserk had a fairy in it, and Serge said he didnt recall it being in the anime. Well the mystery is solved! My friend told me the fairy was too annoying/not very popular in the manga, so they scrapped him from the anime! haha! I hear Beserk gets very very good later in the series :)