Friday 24 April 2015

Mmm smoothies and the tree of life

     
Post yoga smoothie banana, raspberries, rice milk, wheatgrass powder and baobab powder to make me feel alive!

Baobab is amazing, it's known as the tree of life and is cherished by people across Africa, the naturally occurring fruit powder is rich in vitamin C and minerals: magnesium, iron, potassium, calcium and copper which help to revitalise, reduce tiredness and fatigue and support the immune system. We use the organic brand Organic burst for our powders, they are a great etical company who employ at a fair wage lots of families in rural Africa and preserve the natural biodiversity, which is awesome! 
I love smoothies they are like pudding in a glass! 

Tuesday 21 April 2015

Another day at the plot and lovely books

I spent a lovely afternoon in the sunshine today at our plot, did some weeding and dug over a bed ready for planting, planted some seed potatoes that were on offer (I normally just sprout my own in a dark cupboard), built up the next layer of compost with grass cuttings, veg peelings, coffee dregs and horse poo and then sat on a bench we made from bricks and a scaffolding plank and closed my eyes and listened to the birds and the sounds of nature all around me. It was amazing, I remembered when we first got the phone call to say we could have an allotment I said to Tom (my partner) which plot I thought it was, we had visited plenty of times on open day so knew the plots quite well, it was a middle plot with fruit trees on, when we visited to view our new plot it wasn't that one, it was right at the far end with no trees, it was only today I realised when we moved from the half plot to this double plot just over a month ago I was sitting next to the original plot I dreamed about and our new plot has loads of fruit trees on it too!

I was so happy and filled with gratitude, I gave thanks to *God and Mother Nature, my eyes filled up and I could feel an awakening in my body and heart, I feel so lucky and blessed by the life I have, we may not be rich in money yet but I am so rich in other ways.

I took some pictures to share of the beautiful flowers on the plot at the moment, this is Kale that has gone to seed, the flowers are so lovely, I am waiting for the flowers to die off and capture the seeds for next year before giving the greens to the chickens.

Gorgeous apple blossom, how perfect are the flowers, they have a delicate fragrance and the bees love them

I also went to the library and got some amazing books, The thrifty forager by Alys Fowler, foraging by David Squire, Old fashion remedies from arsenic to gin by Dr Rob Hicks and Nature handbook by Chris Packham I also scored The Power by Rhonda Byrne for £5 from The works, got to love the discount book shop!


I am going to do another foraging walk and talk tomorrow to coincide with “PLEDGE TO PLANT – EARTH DAY", be a part of the biggest grass-root effort in history by planting a seed/tree as a “give back” to Earth. I am meeting some people at Salisbury gardens behind Stanley park in Blackpool for an informal foraging session, to teach them about the plants they can eat, learn about the plants health benefits and the best ways to cook them. 

*God = all around us, not one person/thing, I believe in the universe, energy and spirit, I think all religions have the same theme running through them all, be kind to each other and the planet, I like to pick different parts from different belief systems and just know there is more to my life than just being here.


Friday 17 April 2015

Crafty hen parties Blackpool

 So after a long time of teaching people to sew I decided to add some strings to my bow of being self employed and am venturing into hen and birthday parties! I have taught quite a few craft workshops before, in fact I am off to a lovely farm in Dolphinholme tomorrow for a weekend of workshops, Saturday I am teaching ladies to make lavender bags and lavender wheat bags then staying over in the farms caravan (hoping there are no spiders) and on Sunday joining in with their biodynamic compost making course. Very exciting learning new skills which I can use on the allotment and eventually in Portugal.


 
So I made this poster for the hen parties and am hoping it should be lots of fun, it's a little bit scarey too venturing off in another direction but I am asking the universe to help me and send me lots of lovely ladies!

Tuesday 7 April 2015

Our allotment

I always wanted an allotment especially after watching the good life as a child, I adored Tom and Barbara so much and thought it would be a dream come true having some pigs! 
What I didn't realise is how much hard work they are to get them into shape, I'm talking aching bodies after hours of digging, sore arm muscles after lugging bricks around, and a sore back after bending over so much. 
I always feel like I have achieved something great though and that I deserve my dinner after all that fresh air and hard work. 


We have has an allotment for just under a year now and have gone from half a plot to a full plot, the thing is its takes x full year if having a plot to know how the sun moves over the plot, what is already established and grows perennially, how it drains after a pour down and how the wind hits it, our first plot was sheltered, sunny all day and peaceful as it was at the far end of all the plots. 
Now we have moved to the bigger plot we are right in the middle of the action, overlooked by a huge house that blocks out the sun, compacted clay soil and the drainage is terrible. 
So we have gained growing room and the previous owners left us a shed which is awesome but we have lots of work to do to get it in order and with quality growing going on. 
So the above pic is when we first took over the plot, when its all sorted I will take another and show you guys. 

I have been starting to plant seeds at home and the courgettes are growing so fast already. 

   

 We are trying to grow as much as possible this year and be as self sufficient as possible, practising for our move to Portugal. 
I am hoping I have more success with things like butternut squash and red cabbage this year, last year they didn't grow. 

Sunday 5 April 2015

Happy colour revolution!!

I want to start a happy colours clothes revolution in UK, pledge your alliance to Dotty wear and this week choose to wear an outfit the does not include grey or black. Make sure you tag your photos ‪#‎Dottywear‬ on Twitter so I can see you in all your gorgeous glory! Share this and lets see how far around the UK this can travel.





                                                             Lovely colours = happy




I love making clothes and wearing combinations that make me feel beautiful. Today I went to town in the pink skirt in the last picture, I had a bridal net underskirt under in which peeks out of the bottom and floral docs, the amount of filthy looks and stares like I was an alien I got (mainly off women) was crazy, I often don't really care what people think or if they stare, after all I live in Blackpool in the dreary north of UK where the folk wear black and grey clothes but today it made me think, why is it so wrong or not normal to wear colour?


 Little girls wear lots of colour and loads of pink, at what age does it become wrong and the 'adult' wear has to be bleak and dark colours? I looked out over the high street and surveyed the sea of jeans and black coats, the only bits of coloured clothes was on children and a disabled lady. 





This is sad really. In other countries women wear glorious coloured clothes and are deemed beautiful. I think women should encourage each other to look lovely and support each other by smiling and not sneering. It just reminds me of bullying and that's not nice.


  
I think seeing women comfortable in their own skin and owning their power can make other women uncomfortable, or feel like they are somehow inadequate, which is crazy because we are all beautiful x