52 Week Challenge - week by week through 2013

[redser]

Glutton you are so sweet! I'm afraid that was another humour fail on my part, no way I drank 16 litres. I think from now on I'll just play the straight man

[veggiechicken]

Please don't do straight red - life would be so boring without a bit of tongue in cheekery

[bearded bloke]

Finished mine for this week,raised beds all full to brimming

Next week will be making & filling a half bed for rhubarb & strawberries with a run of gladiolas down one side

[bearded bloke]

Next week Redser will be seeing how much beer it takes to get his back teeth floating

[wizzbang]

What week are we on......... I want to join in.
Otherwise I'll sulk (not a pretty sight)
Lynne x

[veggiechicken]

Week 9 and you're very welcome Can't bear it when people sulk
Week 10 starts on Monday so get your skates on!!

[wizzbang]

Blimy week 9. Right I promise myself I will get that garlic planted and feed the rhubarb and get compost on another of the kitchen garden quadrants.
I will, I will, I will.
Lynne x

[Hazel at the Hill]

Blimy week 9. Right I promise myself I will get that garlic planted and feed the rhubarb and get compost on another of the kitchen garden quadrants.
I will, I will, I will.
Lynne x

That's the spirit - and now it's written down, you have to do it!

Mind you, that's a big Challenge - I'm a lazy wotsit and would have made that list into three week's worth!

[Sheneval]

For week 9 - starting today I am going to build the first of a number of wire mesh cages to keep off the rabbits, squirrels and any other nuisances - doubt if it will deter the mice but I have other things in mind for them

pics to follow.

[PyreneesPlot]

Week 9 - sorted out my flower seeds and made a proper sowing schedule. Always done this for veg but always just sown everything flowerish in April and hope for the best...

[Feral007]

Week 10 - tweek the budget and see if I can squeeze out enough for a smallish chest freezer - to hide the produce in

[Piggle]

guys - I'm going to to have to drop out for a bit, we've had a bereavement in the family I'm just not feeling upto it. I wish you all luck with your challenges though and hope to be back on board later in the year.

[Tripmeup]

guys - I'm going to to have to drop out for a bit, we've had a bereavement in the family I'm just not feeling upto it. I wish you all luck with your challenges though and hope to be back on board later in the year.

Sorry to hear that Piggle... sympathies to you and your family..

[Sheneval]

Week 9

Wire mesh cage complete and in situ - pics attached

Next time I'll cut the wood and drill the holes at home but take it to the allotment in bits and screw the pieces together on site.

I am entering myself for the World Tig Championships as my arms are now 6 feet long.

[Hazel at the Hill]

Week 9 challenge

Make bathroom toiletries

The original plan had been to make soap. I researched the ingredients and method (and took the grapes' excellent advice too) and decided that the 'melt down bits of old soap and squash into a new bar' was a bit of a cop out; however the 'make it from scratch with a number of quite potent ingredients' was a bit unnerving.

Another strike against making soap is that there doesn't seem to be a way of sensibly scaling down the proportions (without having loads of bits of ingredients left over) such that you are not producing soap on an industrial scale. Fine if you find it's terrific fun and a great success, but I tend to be a bit more cautious than that and want to start small.

The alternative to soap making, was to make BATH BOMBS - those fragrant cricket ball sized powdery balls that you drop into your bath and they go mad fizzin' round the place and making the bathwater all soft and lovely.

I found the method at the soap kitchen website, and was delighted to see the I already had most of what I needed. Although I bake and sew, I'm not much of a one for 'home made gifts', but thought that I might be onto something here for Christmas presents, and so I was keen to get stuck in.

I mixed bicarb of soda and citric acid, then added red and yellow food colouring (hoping to make orange) and then blended in some orange extract; spritzed with a little water and pushed the mixture into a couple of little dipping pot moulds before leaving them to 'cure'.

The first one collapsed a bit when I got it out of the mould later, and so I squashed it into a ball shape instead, and that's the one I had in the bath this evening - oodles of fizzing and a wonderful orange aroma; really lovely!



Er - a downside, however, was the colour. Now I do not know why this is, but the bath bombs ended up a sort of green, with yellow/orange patches. In fact, if you bring to mind the image of a really mouldy orange, you've just about got it.



If I were to make these as presents - and there is certainly mileage in this idea - I would have to seriously sort the colour thing out!

So week 9 challenge: done!