Hours without Brie – 5. Well, now we all have the January blues. Decorations down, Dry January, back to work for the majority of you, no more watching films you’ve seen a million times before while eating handfuls of chocolate. All good things must come to an end I suppose.

We’re in the final week of the re-wire and the power has been off for most of the day. The hubs has packed the tinterweb and gone to the parentals to work. I meanwhile have caught up on some of the chores, all it takes is a couple of days outside in the garden and everything goes to hell in a handcart so back to my usual routine of dog walk, replenish logs, clean out and re set the fire, sweep, mop, clean kitchen etc. All needed doing along with putting away a huge pile of washing. As our only heat source is the living room log burner, any washing is hung up on a clothes airer, Chinese Laundry style. Trouble is, it can take 3 days to dry a duvet and it does make the place look a smidge untidy. I could have done with putting another load through today but of course, no power. Can’t watch TV because (you’ve guessed it) no power, I’ll do some embroidery, nope can’t see and can’t put a light on. Whatever did we do with our spoilt little arses before we had electricity. It does make you appreciate what it must have been like, reading by gaslight, boiling a copper full of water and running your clothes through a mangle, tin baths in front of the fire instead of your power shower. We have got it so good. In a world where still, even now, not everyone has access to clean drinking water. Makes you think about how lucky you are a touch.

My plans today were pretty simple anyway, get some seeds planted! Saturday involved a trip to Leroy Merlin and Jardiland for things we needed for the garden. Despite some hefty delays due to our friends the Gillet Jaunes, and all the French riot police on the roundabout closest to the motorway exit, we had fun. Picked up a couple of sets of wooden staging so I can use a corner of the living room as a greenhouse as well as a laundry, some herb seeds, a new heavy duty garden fork, kinda like a bent pitchfork, a compost bin, some bags of compost because we have got literally nothing, a log splitting spike (hubs so far unimpressed with this purchase) lots of conjecture over which chainsaw to get, which resulted in no chainsaw, a shelf for the bathroom and a nice basket to put on it, etc, etc, etc….

Oooh, and special mention to the Bosch Glass Vac. Talk about blitzing condensation from the windows with nary a streak! The lack of heating does make keeping damp at bay a constant skirmish, so battle one to me! It’s amazing how much water it drags straight off the window. I love it and it’s got to help. 

I picked up a sort of cooks companion diary from the supermarket as well, planning to use it as my Gardening Journal for what I planted and when, what worked, what didn’t etc. Once again channelling my Dad and I am loving it. I planted 5 pot-bound hyacinths first, which I know will smell amazing, I only bought white ones, I like white ones. 

I’m experimenting with the early planting of salad leaves and herbs in the hope we’ll get some early window-ledge leaves we can cook with. I miss having a ready selection of herbs in the supermarket for the times when there was nothing in the garden that was good to go. With the exception of le Grand Frais that has a stellar selection, the prospect of a bunch of coriander in our local supermarket is more than just a bit unlikely. I’m not being churlish I promise, they make up for this with cheese like 10 fold!

So today I sowed the following, Sage, Lambs Lettuce, Mixed salad leaves, Parsley, Thyme, Basil, Chives, Coriander, Oregano, Dill, Onion (Bedfordshire Champion), and 2 types of tomato, Ailsa Craig and Roma. Plus 3 varieties of sweet pea and some out of date Salvia seeds that may do nothing at all, but worth a shot. The only thing I haven’t put in yet that I’d like to, is a few broad beans. I ran out of inclination and feeling in my fingers by that point. My intricate list of what needs to be planted when, and what crops when has been updated with what I’ve sown. I love growing stuff, I’ve just never really had the space to play with. That is no longer a problem and I am so excited to see what the veg patch might look like come the spring/summer.

Currently waiting for the hubs to return with shopping, and I have power now but no TV because who’s got the tinterweb? Quite enjoying the quiet with candles lit and log burner on, while I type this for you. So Pointless and Antiques Road trip’s loss is your gain, you lucky lucky people. Now I just need tinterweb so I can actually upload this and we’re all good! 

TTFN xxx