On Mondays, I used to do a recap of the previous week. I stopped because there were only so many ways I could say, ‘went to work, had a cold’. It got monotonous but I did like looking back on the week.
So I am shamelessly borrowing from Jenny at this tiny blue house and listing the highs and lows of last week.
Good
Lighter mornings and evenings. Leaving the house in the dark is not fun, so I’m relived that the days are getting longer and it’s light when I leave the house. Sometimes, it’s even sunny (but it’s England so not every day!)
The joys of a spreadsheet. I’ve been feeling a little bit financially stressed due to some unexpected, couldn’t be helped spending this week. Also the water bill came in and I’m still waiting to find out how much bigger the council tax bill will be this year. To top it off there was a pensions briefing at work. I was feeling quite disheartened by all this. But I updated the spreadsheet, looked at the numbers and feel better. I don’t feel richer but I do feel in control and knowing where you stand is half the battle!
Working on the plot. Ma and I spent a couple of hours on the allotment on Saturday, the weather was amazing and we did some weeding and sorted out where various things are going. I sowed borage and coriander and chives. The raspberries, gooseberries, blackcurrant and plum are all in bud and got a thorough weed. It’s good to get back into it.
Bad
Losing my travelcard on Monday morning. Ok it was the last week before it ran out and I was working from home on Friday but it was £30 that I’d rather have spent on something else. Also annoying, leaving the house at 7.30am on Monday morning and not getting to work until gone 9am, because of all the too-ing and fro-ing from the station.
Sleep. This is something I’ve struggled with for years. I know and do all the things that promote good sleep hygiene but sometimes my body stops being able to sleep properly. I couldn’t tell you why, it just happens. The I’ve been doing all the right things but I’m not sleeping well this week. It might be time for a sleeping pill so I can get a straight 8 hours.
Sunday Slump. I had a busy week and weekend, and by Sunday I was peopled out and blue. This is not a new feeling, I’m naturally a depressive person, and what works for my is striking a balance between allowing myself to be a bit down and not giving entirely into it. So I didn’t see anyone on Sunday but I did sort my flat and self out so that I’m ready for the work week.
This year, Ma and I are both contributing £20 a month for allotment things (which is £240 for those of you counting) On top of that Ma has paid the rent for this year and gave me £250 for the shed (which does not go as far as you think).
I could spend more, I could spend less. Some of the most obvious costs were because I made the decision to have beds, instead of planting across the whole plot. I knew that this was the best way to motivate me and to keep the maintinance managable. We will in the next couple of years add a couple of other beds, I’m thinking two more long ones and another square, but maybe a couple at the top of the plot, in front of the raspberries but we’ll see how we do this year before I make any decisions.
That my plot had been dug over in the autumn before I got it and wasn’t completely overgrown really helped me make progress. In fact, it was a bit daunting because I started in May and it was a race to get things in and it didn’t take long for the weeds to try and take over the plot. At some point, I realised I wasn’t going to win this one and covered up the weedy bits. There are cheaper ways of keeping the weeds down but weed fabric was the quickest and easiest and in terms of being able to work the soil when it was up, the weed fabric that is water permeable was better but more expensive than plastic. We did both and the difference was clear. That earth under the black plastic was a nightmare and the square beds on now it are not level, in part because digging it over was so hard!
All that to say that it’s not only about the money. What you spend will be determined by many of other things, how much time you have, whether you want to be organic, what’s already growing on the plot, when you take over the plot, what state it’s in when you get it, what you want the plot to look like, what you want to grow, whether you want to be wholly or partially organic, what equipment you already have and how much you already know about growing food. There are tons of variables, so the choices you make about how you are going to grow will impact how much you spend. Overall though, money helps things go quicker, but then so does time.
I have to be honest, I don’t really count, eat a fair amount of fruit and veg and haven’t thought much beyond that. However, it’s been on my mind this week, I read 
The problem is not so much the amount, especially in the summer, when my diet more naturally skews towards veg, it’s the variety. It’s 10 different portions a day. If I eat two carrots that only actually one portion for the sake of the target and it’s March. If you are trying to eat cheaply, variety is where you are going to fail. 
Looking at the NHS guidelines these are the things to remember: a portion is 80g, beans and lentils count for no more than one portion a day, fruit juice and smoothies are 150ml portions and can count for no more than one portion. Jam does not count at all!
So for the rest of this month, I’m going to see if I can hit 10 portions of fruit and veg a day with no more than three of fruit. I want to see if I can do it within the contraints of my budget and if at the end of the month it has had any difference on my health/weight/digestion.
Blue-ish Sky. 17 February. Morning photo 
Gold Shoes. 17 February. A different journey to work because of train failure and someone with a shiny pair of shoes because you have to cheer yourself up however you can!
Favourite View. 17 February. I walked from work to Waterloo on Friday, it’s a great walk on a sunny day, even if that day is the last day of half-term. Tourists and small children everywhere but if I’m honest, I walked it for this view.
How to cope. 17 February. 
Londoner. 17 February.
Old Tom. 17 February.
Gin, finally. 17 February. After the tour.
Red Trousers. 17 February. Men who wear trousers like this have the self belief that only a private education can give you. He didn’t know when the Battle of Waterloo was but that didn’t stop him pontificating on it, at length..
Pizza. 17 February. One of two
Herb Bed. 18 February. Soon this patch of earth will be covered with plants, for now I’m enjoying the achievement of weeding and digging it over.
Allotment view. 18 February. Part of me thinks I’m just going to take a photo every time at at the plot from this angle and to track the changes.
Ma headless in the raspberries. 18 February. She’s a great mother, a fabulous grandma and the best weeder I know (it’s the pointy fingers!!)
Rhubarb planted. 18 February. You can’t see it yet but there is rhubarb there.
Blossom. 18 February. The blossom is out, it’s still early but it’s a month later than last year.
Boiled Chicken. 18 February. So for a little while, I’ve been trying to make boiled chicken in the slow cooker. It’s not chicken stew and Ma used to make it a lot and serve it with rice. This is it and it tastes like I remember. Ma approved as well.
Dutch Baby Pancake. 19 February. Sunday morning breakfast and a new recipe. It was good.
Waiting for the train. 23 February. Much lighter in the morning than it used to be.
Nic Dempsey 