My plant wishlist

I love my garden. The trouble is, it doesn't have that many plants in it at the moment. The previous owner let everything in the garden grow enormous and so when we decided to do something with the garden (which you can see in this slideshow) we had to get rid of most things. We were left with a few trees, four roses, an archway with honeysuckle and a few other climbers, and masses of Spanish bluebells, which apparently are considered a weed as they are so prolific. Anyway, I am hoping that over the coming months and years I will be able to add to the garden bit by bit, planting shrubs and bulbs that will make it cohesive and beautiful. So I decided to start a plant wishlist, so I can keep track of all the lovely things I'd like to see in my garden.

• At least one peony bush
• Cherry tree
• Clematis Montana 'Elizabeth'
• A climbing rose on the shady wall next to the twisted hazel e.g. Rosa 'Madame Alfred Carriere'
• Hostas
• Lots of tulips
• Giant alliums 
• Dicentra Spectabilis 'Bleeding Heart'
• Geraniums in pots

Seen at a National Trust plant shop:

• Hosta 'Sum and substance' - £7.50 for a 3 litre pot
• Hosta 'Cherry berry' - £7.50 for a 3 litre pot
• Scilla 'Peruvian' - £6.50 for a 2 litre pot

I'll keep adding to this as new ideas come into my head!

101 in 1001

I found out a while ago about a project that a lot of people have been doing and blogging about. It started with a site called Day Zero. The basic premise is that you make a list of 101 things that you'd like to do in the next 1001 days. 1001 days is considered better than a year because it's a longer, more realistic time period. I've been working on my list for a while. It's not finished yet but I'll add to it over the coming weeks (update - finished list on 1 June 2011). It'll be interesting (for me) to see how I get on! My finish date is 21 January 2014.


Personal
1. Read the whole Bible
2. Get a new job - completed December 2011
3. Read HeadFirst JavaScript
4. Read HeadFirst PHP
5. Have a super-simple month - pretty much every month since Sophie was born! Perhaps a better goal would be: Socialise!
6. Have a baby - Sophie Ann Louise Wu born 4 September 2012
7. Write to my grandmothers six times 6/6 - completed 18 February 2013
8. Go paper-free on all bills and statements - completed
9. Get a facial - completed September 2013 (merci Mamie et Claude!)
10. Save £10 for every task I complete - completed
11. Donate blood - completed 3 November 2011
12. Dye my hair
13. Run a half marathon - completed 6 October 2013
14. Run a 10K - completed July 2013
15. Register for a course - completed September 2011
16. Learn to draw
17. Learn five new piano pieces 0/5
18. Learn the violin
19. Write a children's book
20. Create that website that I've been thinking about
21. Finish reading 'Getting things done'
22. Do the 100 push-ups challenge
23. Keep off facebook for a month - completed 14 September 2011
24. Get weight down to x - completed
25. Finish this list - completed 1 June 2011
26. Learn to play bridge properly
27. Join a club or society

Food
28. Bake bread from scratch - completed 22 May 2013
29. Make a perfect pavlova - completed 29 April 2011
30. Make jam - completed 9 August 2011
31. Eat five things I've never tried before - completed 16 September 2011 (lots of new foods in Japan)
32. Make 20 new main course recipes 20/20 - completed 18 February 2013
33. Make a birthday cake for someone - completed 28 September 2011
34. Learn to make sugar flowers - completed November 2011
35. Make chutney - completed 12 November 2011
36. Make 20 new cakes/desserts - completed 25 October 2012
37. Label my cake tins - completed 29 August 2011
38. Make three different flavours of creme brulee 2/3
39. Make a family cookbook

Garden
40. Build a rock garden
41. Grow and harvest 12 different fruits and vegetables - completed with our first blueberries, August 2013
42. Get a peony for the garden - completed May 2013 (thanks, mum and dad!)
43. Have five different types of tulip in the garden
44. Clear the garden of debris - completed October 2013

Home
45. Paint our hall stairs and landing - completed 7 May 2011
46. Organise the attic
47. Paint the radiators in the kitchen and hallway - completed 1 May 2011
48. Make fitted cupboards and shelves in the living room
49. Make radiator covers in the living room
50. Paint the outside of the house - completed September 2012, organised by my lovely husband
51. Insulate the loft - completed 5 November 2011 (thanks, Nicolas and Eric!)
52. Get the boiler fixed - completed 2 June 2011
53. Get the damp chimney fixed - completed 22 November 2011
54. Paint the garden shed - completed 1 October 2011
55. Replace the door handles
56. Get a '21' sign for the house - completed 16 June 2012
57. Paint the kitchen - completed 10 July 2011
58. Clean the windows outside (or get them cleaned) - completed 18 October 2011
59. Get a frame for and hang the etching - completed 2 June 2011
60. Declutter the whole house
61. Revarnish the floors
62. Paint the banisters
63. Clear out and put new shelves in the pantry - completed August 2012 by Nick

Travel
64. Travel to four new countries 2/4 (does Scotland count?!)
65. Go on a cruise
66. Go camping
67. Go to Scotland - completed July 2013
68. Go on a girls only trip
69. Go on a road trip
70. See the Northern Lights
71. Go to the USA
72. Go on holiday with friends - completed March 2013
73. Go on a winter holiday in the UK - completed March 2013, with snow!
74. Visit five British cities I've never been to before 4/5
75. Visit three European cities I've never been to before 0/3

Culture
76. Complete a 365 photo challenge
77. Go to an opera
78. Read 20 books 16/20
79. Watch five classic movies I've never seen before - completed 26 September 2011
80. See a Shakespeare play - completed 22 August 2012
81. Go to ten National Trust places - completed August 2013
82. Go to a Prom - completed 20 July 2011
83. Go to the Tate Britain - completed 17 December 2011
84. Go to Portobello Market - completed 17 December 2011

Craft
85. Host a craft evening - completed 11 November 2011
86. Make curtains for the living room
87. Make a dress
88. Get a sewing box - found my childhood one!
89. Complete four knitting projects 4/4 - completed February 2013
90. Complete five cross-stitch projects 4/5

Fun
91. Leave a note in a library book - completed 2 October 2011
92. Complete a jigsaw - completed 8 May 2011
93. Go for a family bike ride - completed 8 October 2011 (Oxford to Tackley)
94. Host a neighbourhood party - completed 31 December 2011
95. Host Christmas
96. Swim in the sea - completed 25 June 2011 (at Highcliffe, Dorset)
97. Host a tea party - completed 25 May 2013
98. Go kayaking ten times 2/10
99. Go on a picnic - completed 31 July 2011
100. Go to a theme park
101. Go to a ball

Completed: 60/101
Last updated: 17/12/2013

Christ is risen!

Easter 2011

The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay." (Matthew 28:5-6)

Easter is one of my favourite times of the year. It is wonderful to have a yearly festival pondering on Christ's death and celebrating his resurrection.

Here are some of the things we did this Easter.

I made Easter nests and Nick and I scoffed the lot.

We painted our hallway. It's nearly finished, but not quite!

It's now a much lighter, brighter colour. You can see the difference between the darker blue on the left and the new colour.

We made sweet and sour chicken, deep fried. Yum.

Julien enjoyed hunting for Easter eggs in the garden. One of the eggs vanished mysteriously, with only the wrapper left behind. I wonder what kind of animal did it.

I made a Simnel cake following Mary Berry's recipe, complete with eleven marzipan balls representing the eleven disciples remaining after Judas' defection. Somehow I feel sorry for Judas because he is scorned yet his role was vital in God's rescue plan to save us through Jesus' death and resurrection. Anyway, we enjoyed the cake with some friends of ours, their children, and a cup of tea. Delightful.

Laura and Nick's potato wedges

We made potato wedges last night using only raw ingredients and raw inspiration. Seriously, no recipe. It's unusual for me to make up a recipe but the potato wedges turned out so well that I might just make a habit of it.

Potato wedges

Potatoes - allow one large or two medium per person - we used orla but any roasting-type variety would do

Sea salt

Pepper

Paprika powder

Chilli powder

Olive oil

Preheat oven to 200C.
Cut the potatoes in half, then cut the halves into thick wedges. Season liberally with salt and pepper. Add a good sprinkle of paprika powder and chilli powder. Mix it all up with your hands until the wedges are well coated.
Drizzle olive oil over, about one tablespoon per potato or a bit less if you are doing loads of wedges. Mix it all up again.
Line a baking sheet with greaseproof paper (very important, otherwise they will stick). Place the wedges in one layer on the sheet. Bake the wedges for 40-50 minutes until cooked through, turning them over after about 25 minutes.

Inspiration from Psalm 27

1 The LORD is my light and my salvation-- whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life-- of whom shall I be afraid? 2 When evil men advance against me to devour my flesh, when my enemies and my foes attack me, they will stumble and fall. 3 Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then will I be confident. 4 One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple. 5 For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock. 6 Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me; at his tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the LORD. 7 Hear my voice when I call, O LORD; be merciful to me and answer me. 8 My heart says of you, "Seek hisface!" Your face, LORD, I will seek. 9 Do not hide your face from me, do not turn your servant away in anger; you have been my helper. Do not reject me or forsake me, O God my Savior. 10 Though my father and mother forsake me, the LORD will receive me. 11 Teach me your way, O LORD; lead me in a straight path because of my oppressors. 12 Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes, for false witnesses rise up against me, breathing out violence. 13 I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. 14 Wait for the LORD; be strongand take heart and wait for the LORD.

Money-free weekends

A while ago I found a post I really liked on a blog I follow, The Simple Dollar, giving 100 suggestions of activities to do on money-free weekends.

The concept is simple: take a weekend, and don't spend any money. Not even for food. Eat what you have in the cupboard/freezer, and do activities that are free. Not all of the activities suggested count as fun in my book (who actually enjoys putting their financial papers in order, except accountants?) - but I like the idea of having a money-free weekend because the idea strikes me as a way to get 'back to basics' and enjoy a simpler, more frugal life.

Also, the activities in the post don't have to be done at the weekend. Actually, they would be a great way to fill any spare time when it's hard to think of something to do. This evening, for example, I feel a bit down and not that keen on doing my usual activities of going to the gym or cleaning, so I am making a loaf of bread. It's rising in the kitchen right now. There is something therapeutic about knowing it is there gently rising and something enticing about the thought of the aromas which will fill the house as it bakes, and the taste of it once it is finished.