Time Flys Like a Banana

Time Flies Like an ArrowAn Ode to Oettinger

Now thin fruit flies like thunderstorms,
And thin farm boys like farm girls narrow;
And tax firm men like fat tax forms -
But time flies like an arrow!
.....
Like tossed bananas in the skies,
The thin fruit flies like common yarrow;
Then's the time to time the time flies -
Like the time flies like an arrow.
Edison B. Schroeder 1966

Time seems to be warping!   It's either flying by or dragging at a snails pace.
The girls are growing so quickly, it seems only yesterday that I was waddling around with holly bumping about in my belly. Now she's off to school in September.  We've bought her uniform (watch here for her first day at school pics), had a visit from her teacher and await her last day at nursery next week.

There doesn't seem to be enough time in the day to do all of the garden/house/sewing work that needs to be done. So its been a very full couple of weeks.      

First of all we had to dig out the pathway down the side of the house.  This gave me the opportunity to use me favourite tool, the mattock!!  There's a lot if tension that can be resolved with some hard ground and a mattock.   So a couple of days later and the path is all dug and the giant skip is finally full.

I was glad of the shade from the new fence

After too many mornings being woken up at 5am because the light is shining through Lotties window.  I finally started on Lotties curtains.  I am always amazed at how big curtains are, so much material!! It takes me so long to make them as I have to clear the whole if the living room floor to cut and pin them, and that in itself is a feat!!  (I'll post a piccy when their finished).
Down at the allotment time is definitely flying.  It was well beyond time for the climbing beans in my greenhouse to become the climbing beans in my allotment. So I made some teepee bean poles and planted them at the front of the allotments next to the nasturtiums. (Good companion plants as the black fly prefer the nasturtiums to the beans).

some examples of different bean pole designs

I also put in some very late cabbages and some Japanese radishes, Mooli. I'm not sure if these will take well as its so late but it's worth a try.   

very shy cabbages 

But most exciting was the fact that the strawberry popcorn and the spaghetti squash have really taken off.  The corn is beginning to look like corn (no cobs yet but hopefully soon!)

spaghetti squash, "do a little happy dance"!

strawberry popcorn (yes, I did a little dance again!)

While building my bean tepees I did have a look around the allotment and I did have bean pole envy, there were some very beautiful bean pole designs. I particularly liked the one with the sweet peas.

gorgeous Sweetpeas growing up a wooden frame

my neighbours arch bean poles (I'm very jealous)

It's also potato time in our house! Holly's used to digging the potatoes out if the bags but to see Lottie's face when I plucked the first one out if the compost, priceless. 

rocket potatoes fab with salads

First we had Rocket potatoes; small round and firm great for boiling. Next it was the Mayan Gold; one of my favourite. Very quick to boil with lovely soft yellow flesh. Great for boiling or roasting, and Lottie couldn't get enough of them!!

gorgeous nutty flavour but don't over boil as they fall apart very quickly

The best part of this time warp was my school reunion!! Thanks Facebook.  Back in February the lovely Emma organised for us to meet up and we've been slowly gathering girls from across the country, even across the ocean!  It was an amazing evening. Looking back, catching up with past 25 years and finding out about everyone s fabulous lives. Time has been kind to all of us and it was as if we'd just stepped out of that bottle green uniform into our own clothes.   

little had changed since we were 10

I think this was the most well behaved we'd been for years!

I returned home to an exhausted husband, the hot weathers been playing havoc with the girls sleeping patterns.  But we still made it out to Newbury carnival.  It was boiling hot, the atmosphere was brilliant.  It seemed as if the whole of Newbury was at Victoria park. We met up with some friends and the girls went on every ride that they could, ate as much ice cream as they could stomach, and definitely slept well that night.