January Days

The January page in Edith Holden's Book -  The Nature Notes of an Edwardian Country Lady

January brings the snow
Makes our feet and fingers glow

so said Sara Coleridge in her Months of The Year poem  written in 1834 for children. We are more likely to get snow in January or February nowadays rather than December, and January is one of the wettest months of the year and often the coldest, this very old weather saying is usually right.

As the days lengthen so the cold strengthens 

 January is named after the Latin for door or opening , ianua, and Janus a Roman God with two faces, looking backwards and forwards.

I did the looking backwards bit on yesterdays post (and a HUGE thank you everyone for all the lovely supportive comments, it's  really good to know that people enjoy reading) so now I'm looking forward.
Of course lots of things will depend on Colin's health, how quickly will he recover from this treatment? and has it worked? But the year will march along regardless so I need to have plans and ideas.

The Garden:-
One of the things Col was able to do in November was to get the frame of a fruit cage sorted for the raspberry bed. The canes arrived two days after he went into hospital and I got them planted. They won't produce fruit this year but from 2019 onward we should have a good crop. The very cheap canes I got from Poundland and Wilkinsons before we moved  and the few that were here already should give us some to eat this year.
The new strawberry bed is looking healthy, I just need 5 more plants to fill it up. We might get a few gooseberries this year from the new bushes.
We now know that the pears don't keep - even in the freezer - they defrosted into a slimy mess -  we must start eating them sooner. The amount of cooking apples our tree produced didn't last us long so I shall be picking up cheap bags full when I see them at car boot sales this year.

I'll be growing much the same as last year in the vegetable beds and greenhouse and we have a couple of extra foot of space now some dahlia tubers have been moved. My tin is stocked with seed packets and I'm ready to go......

The House:-
 I hope we get round to swapping the massive deep roll-top, claw-footed bath to a normal bath with shower over. Then the random shower in the bedroom can be removed and bedroom redecorated from dull cinnamon to something much more cheerful.  Kitchen unit replacement will wait another year, there's only 1 missing drawer front and a few missing kick boards...... Everything is still use-able.

Crafting:-
I could say that this year I'll learn to crochet, to knit more than dishcloths and to rustle up quilts and clothes.........but I know myself by now and it won't happen! I'd rather be reading.
So I shall just make the years birthday cards from the stash and maybe get to use that willow kit I got from a boot-sale last summer.

That'll do for now. Back Tomorrow with Budget 2018
Sue