How does your garden grow?

Ahh, yes, so as per usual I have been VERY busy in the garden and at the allotment, producing all manner of wonderful vegetables and flowers....

Ok, so not really. For a very fabulous birthday surprise last week the lovely husband took me on a surprise trip to the Chelsea Flower Show. What made it even better was that I had spent the previous few evenings watching it on television and saying "ooh, we really must go next year" whilst he sat quietly next to me knowing that he had surprise tickets and picnic hampers at the ready.

There was so much to look at it, and it really is an amazing place to go if you are into gardening.
I came away with loads of ideas, the main one being that I am going to put vegetables in with flowers this year in our back garden, as well as at the allotment. We have a small garden but borders all around, and quite a large patio, so there is quite a bit of space that can be filled.

So far we have courgettes, cucumbers, tomatoes, squashes, pumpkins, kohl rabi, french beans and peas. I bought a couple of packets of seeds back with me which have gone straight into pots.

The allotment has rhubarb, peas, broad beans, potatoes, asparagus, raspberries, strawberries, gooseberries, blackberries, carrots, parnsips and a kiwi plant.

I don't think any of us will be suffering from vitamin deficiency any time soon. Hopefully we'll save a small fortune as well!

No photos, just me!

Hello folks, long time no speak. Me that is, not you. I still manage to find some time to read all of my favourite blogs,(even if I haven't been very good and left a comment!) but somehow the inspiration hasn't been there for me personally to write a post. Not sure why, no great reasons behind it...just...normal life I suppose.

I got a bit tired of logging on and seeing those gingerbread men below though-the ones from Christmas 2009! and now here we are, Spring (ish) 2010, and I have had so many lovely messages from lots and lots of you asking if I am still alive, and Yes, I am! Hurrah!

We have had the usual frantic few months here in the Cotswolds, with things going very well indeed at the cafe, I am pleased to say. Lovely bloggers still keep coming in, and I am always so very touched that they have made the effort...despite the fact that I never seem to have time to do anything other than shriek in surprise and dump a cappuccino in front of them before serving the masses.

We are open 7 days a week now, which may seem like madness, but it does mean that I have a WHOLE weekend off every now and again, which is hugely exciting. Lots of camping trips during the summer months, is the plan. And perhaps some sitting in the garden with a good book and enjoying the sunshine with a glass of pimms to hand. That would be splendid.

So, if you're reading this, and are still with me, then Hello! I will try harder, promise. And I will write again before another quarter of a year passes, promise. And I will share some FABULOUS new cake recipes as well. Promise.
Bye for now.....
xxxx

You can run but you can't catch me

Gardengirl is very busy baking, sewing, and running N0.9, so this is the second guest blog by Mr Gardengirl.

The village is building up to the festive period and the switching on of the Christmas lights took place yesterday, which also marks the window display competition.

For this the girl decided on a Gingerbread Man theme.

Did she

a) Order them from the internet?
b) Purchase them from John Lewis?
c) Spend every night for the last week making them by hand, with limited help from me?

She started with Brown felt and scissors



Then the smile, buttons and heart were added. The eyes were out sourced to a man, as you can clearly tell.

Next came the filling and sewing together.

The night before deployment, a team meeting was held to discuss 'Operation Dangle'. All the boys were there........

...and the plan was put into place at 1700hrs on Friday

Everyone was in place, however when we returned on Saturday morning some of the candy canes had disappeared and nobody knew where they had gone.

To answer the most popular questions during Saturday trading

1) Yes, they are handmade.

2) No, they are not edible.

3) No, they are not for sale.

4) Yes, she is very talented

5) Yes, it was me who sewed on the eyes, yes the wonky ones, really all of them.

Gardengirl will return to blogland shortly, mostly likely in the new year.

In the meantime you can up with goings on via my Twitter musings, you can find me as Beakery.

It's ILLEGAL!!!

Two glasses of champagne and please note the rosy cheeks!

Cocktail making ingredients above, and below, making mojitos...

Just a few tame photos of the drunken celebrations from our first birthday party! Much champagne was consumed, giggling was done and 'remember when' conversations took place.

None of us can quite believe how quickly the last year has flown by. We have been lucky to have had so much support from all of our lovely customers, and fabulous staff. We have a great team surrounding us who all work so hard, and it is down to their help as well that No.9 has been such a success. Rest assured they were rewarded!

I thought I would share a conversation with you from my (very) early morning visit to the supermarket today. I had to go and buy a few provisions on the way to work and decided at the last minute to add a couple of bottles of pear cider to the basket for when I got home tonight.

At that time of morning, and being a very small supermarket, you have to pay at the cigarette kiosk. So I wandered over to the kiosk and stood there for a couple of minutes whilst waiting to be served. One of the shop assistants stood feet away from me with her back to me, piling up the newspapers onto a stand. Eventually another assistant from further down the shop saw me with hand on hip and raised eyebrow, and called to the girl

"There's someone at the counter Chelsea!" she turned, saw me and replied,

"Yeah, I know, I'm nearly done now"

By now there were two more people behind me int he queue, sighing and impatient as well, waiting to pay. Chelsea then finished doing the newspapers and decided to wheel her now empty cart to the front of the store before coming to serve us. On the way she clocked the pear cider by now on the counter.

"Is that ALCOHOL?" she practically shouted from the front of the store. I looked around to make sure she was definitely talking to me.

"Um, yes, it is alcohol" I replied.

"Well you can't buy it, it's ILLEGAL!" she shouted. The woman in the queue behind me started giggling and I was ready to sink into the floor.

"Well believe me I'm more than old enough, unfortunately" I said, thinking Chelsea must have thought I was under age.

"No, it's illegal to buy it, the law SAYS SO. It's ILLEGAL to buy alcohol before 8am. MIKE! MIKE! I was just saying, It's ILLEGAL to buy alcohol at this time of morning, isn't it?!"

Mike nodded in agreement.

Good grief. I wanted to die. Everyone that was coming into the store was looking at me whilst she continued yelling.

"You'll have to go and put it back Madam, it's illegal. Or wait fifteen minutes and buy it then instead" I stood and stared at her, as she was by now in front of me and positioned at the till. I took a deep breath, and counted to five.

"I don't really have time to wait fifteen minutes because I'm late for work. And if I can't buy the cider because it's illegal, well then I'll have to have something else for breakfast, won't I?"

Woman behind me was crying with laughter and mortification on my behalf.

I passed the cider to Chelsea and suggsted gently that she would probably be able to put it back on my behalf and handed her some money. She didn't say A WORD.

Happy Birthday To Us

Yes indeed folks, it's a year today since we opened No.9. We can't believe how quickly it's flown by. Seriously, a WHOLE YEAR?!! Lots of customers came to help celebrate our first birthday, and us staff celebrated by drinking glasses of bucks fizz at 8.30am. Possibly not a great idea.

Being in charge of a coffee machine whilst under the influence= frothy milk all over the floor. Oh well.

So just a quick one today, as we are now off to celebrate properly and enjoy a proper weekend for a change-two whole days off! We haven't had a bank holiday off since we opened so we decided to spoil ourselves.

Fingers crossed for sunshine and blue skies.

Back with photos soon!

How Big is Your Boot?

Because ours is quite big, as you can see!

I was just trying the boot out for size in case we got rained out of the tent. Fortunately we remained very dry and cosy.

We managed to escape to the New Forest for a few days a couple of weeks ago and had a lovely time wandering, reading, drinking endless cups of tea and chilling out. Bliss.



The ever increasing book pile....one which isn't pictures which I read and laughed hysterically at, is Dawn French's 'Dear Fatty'. If you are a fan you must read it, I insist!

The essential hat for covering bed hair on the way to the shower block in the morning....I think it is actually a mans hat, but it cost £2.45 and is very soft and comfy. I have an enormous head, which is why I ended up with a mans hat instead of the miniscule lady hats on offer!

The even more essential ENORMOUS bottle of gin, and much smaller bottle of tonic...Rob's canny camping tip is to take an ice box to Tesco (other supermarkets are available) and fill it with ice. Then bury all alcohol (pear cider is especially good for camping) into the ice. You then have a ready made ice bucket which keeps drinks cold all weekend and lots of ice to put in your gin.

I have just realised that I am 101 today! Or at least my blog is. Does that mean I get cake and candles?? No?

Oh.

Well despite that, I have to say I am most chuffed to have managed to hang on in there and keep going. I realise 100 posts may seem a bit rubbish to some of you old timers, but to me, well...yay!

I thought you may like to see my lovely Grandads 90th birthday cake. He has an incredible vegetable patch, and always knows the varieties of things he groes (whereas some of us just chuck in whatever seeds we have to hand..) when I was little he grew tomatoes professionally and my brother and I used to make tomato boxes for him in the summer holidays. Whenever I smell tomato plants now I instantly think of him.

Lots of family and friends gathered to help celebrate his big birthday a couple of weekends ago and had a lovely time.

The weather was sunny and we sat in the garden catching up with people we don't see enough of.

Nothing much else to report, apart from the enormous pile of courgettes that we returned home from camping to. Since then we have made courgette and carrot soup, iced zuchinni tray bake, courgette and mint soup, baked courgette, roasted courgette, courgette and pasta, you name it.

Tomorrow I am hoping to attempt Zuchinni Chocolate Cake at work. Oh yes indeed. And that, my friends, will be a whole different story.

And The Comment of The Week Award.....

Goes to a lady in her late seventies, leaning towards me when I took her her coffee and saying in rather a loud voice
"Do you know, it's so bloody hot I didn't put any knickers on this morning".


There really is no polite response to that, is there?!