Gardening in a Kilt (Buzz Kidder Canvas)

[Bugbear]

No problem, BoldHighlander.

It looked like there is a bad moon rising in that kilt hose thread... Still glad I didn't post. Besides, over here, I can use technical terms like "woolly lamb's legs" or "scrunchy" to describe hose. That probably doesn't go over so well out there. How about "horsey hooves" and "klydesdale" look.

Hmmmm! I know the smiley is showing up in my post if I can't read it after I post it...

Ok, things look like they're going to be alright in that hose thread, but I'm still not going to post. It stresses me out when I start seeing a thread that I have posted in go sour...

I don't know if I will find any marmite on the trip to the store I will be taking either today or tomorrow. Sense It came up, I do have to have help with shopping at the grocery store, or any store. It's just the way it works.

Oh, the drama of my life!!

[Barry]

Well the weather here in England has been warm and sunny, almost springlike. It gave me a chance to get out in the garden yesterday. And what should I wear but my all black fredonline polyester kilt. I coupled this with a check shirt ( my Laura Ashley look as Mrs B calls it), hand knit socks and a chunky hand knit jumper. A pair of wellingtons completed the ensemble as the ground is more that a bit moist. Oh, I almost forgot; some gentleman's unmentionables for the nether regions

So in went the early tatties and of course swede ( aka neeps or rutabaga) and some broad beans. The broccoli are already doing well. The mild winter has caused many a plant to bud early and all my fruit tree are in bud. There are no marmalade trees let alone a girl with kaleidoscope eyes. the climates is not condusive. My faithful Siamese enjoyed being out and nosing into all that I was doing. Prr, Prr!

After all the work I was ready for lunch and what better than a cheddar and Branston pickle sandwich, washed down by a pint of Theakston's "Old Peculiar".int: I also managed a slice of Mrs B`s rhubarb pie. And yes the rhubarb is already up this year, having survived a transplant across the garden.

Happy Days

[Bugbear]

Well, Barry, that sounds like a lovely time. I don't have much going on in my vegetable garden right now because I am rearanging and clearing out everything. The marmalade trees are still heavy with fruit, and the fig trees have budded after losing their leaves. I took several cuttings for new batches of trees to give away.

* I am aware that a marmalade tree is technically a sapote tree which is related to but not a citrus. Marmalade grove just sounds so cute...

My six kitties love to follow me around the garden and watch from the tall grass... Until I start using the weed eater or some other noisy machine. Speaking of machines, it is very nice to not have that giant vacuum cleaner running out in the street night and day.

[Bugbear]

When I go into town to the grocery store, I do think I will wear a kilt. (It's not that far to go into town anymore; just kind of sounds nice.) I think I will wear my kakhi BK, a gray sweater, gray knee high socks (red stripe at the very tops), black hiking boots, my gray driving hat, and my new zebra kilt pin. Quite casual. I might even go scrunchy socks which with the hiking boots makes the klydesdale hoof look... Guess that might go well with the zebra pin. I probably look a bit scuzzy because I am two weeks into growing a full beard which will be kept short but full: grizzly bear beard I guess. Oops, I forgot to add that I would be wearing a plain black, pebble finnished sporran. I need to get a leather belt to go with that sporran, and if I end up at Walmart, I might look for one. The one I have now has chains...

I need to get another squeeze bear of honey, and those giant oatmeal cookies, and a bunch of other stuff.

I don't think they would have a jar of marmite at the grocery store, so that will have to wait. After all, it's just marmite...

I didn't get to the store this evening, so I will go tomorrow. I did use the last of the chicken in my meal today, so I will put the porkchops down in the fridge to start using them. I still have plenty of citrus, so I guess I'll keep using them in the meals.

Guess I'll fill you in on all the jucey details of my trip to the grocery store tomorrow.

[Bugbear]

It will just be so exciting.

[Barry]

My memory is nor what it was -
it is of course "tangerine trees and marmalade skies"

I like tangerines but clementines are better. Just got home from the greengrocer with half a dozen. Yummy.

[Bugbear]

There are no diamonds and no monkey people who stand upright with locking knees in my back yard... Unless you want to call me a monkey people... That's ok if you do.


I have one tangerine tree, but it is one of the older seedy varieties. I call it the tang tree, and they are quite good, but seedy. I also have a washington navel, a tangelo, a grapefruit,and a volkamer lemon, as well as a sour orange tree. All the fig trees I have are cloned from the same brown turkish fig.

* As I said before, it is fun to call them marmalade trees, but technically they are not. The sapote is the marmalade tree, and the seville orange is the traditional orange from which marmalade pectin is extracted. That's just in case someone feels the need to correct me.

* There also is no girl with kaleidoscope eyes in my back yard. I do however have a marmalade tabby kitty cat who loves to sneak around under my citrus trees.

[Bugbear]

Someone is bringing over a desk they were going to throw away. After that is done, I will go to the store.

[Barry]

Unless you want to call me a monkey people... That's ok if you do.

I wouldn`t dream of doing such a thing.

I do however have a marmalade tabby kitty cat who loves to sneak around under my citrus trees. His name is Marjan, and he is named after a lion. I won't tell you which one.

Could it be Marjan?

How is the beard coming on? Has it gotten past the itchy stage yet?

(smiley-free post)

[Bugbear]

I have been to the grocery store, and returned from the grocery store. I found and bought oatmeal cookies. I also found and bought snicker doodle cookies.

No one called me a monkey people. I don't know if that will make String happy, or sad. A couple of people noticed that I had a grizzle beard, but didn't complain. I don't seem to have a problem with the beard itching... And it was longer than it is now last month when I didn't shave for three weeks. I didn't have to go to the store for a month, and... Maybe I'm just not paying attention. I would think that a bee beard would itch though, if not sting.

Everyone loves my new zebra kilt pin. I'm trying to find a way to describe it... It's like if you took a piece of flat, silver metal, cut it out in a zebra shape, one of his front legs is raised, then cut the zebra lines into the metal and put black paint into the slots you cut out. It's flat, so it's a bit styolized and without relief on the edges. I like it a lot and plan on wearing it on the side of my driving caps when I am not wearing a kilt.

The snicker doodle cookies are pretty good. I guess they put stuff in them to keep them soft, and that changes them a bit. They taste good though. I remember Grandma's having a slight chrispyness on the outside, and being softer inside... It's mostly a textural thing, but it seems like she also used a bit mor cinnamon, and hers had a little bit of a bite to them. They were nice when they were still a little warm...

The desk thing they broght over is a bit nicer than I thought. It was a computer desk that was being replaced at a local school. It was to be halled off with the trash, but someone I know snagged it. It is nice enough that I can probably clean it up a bit and use it as extra counter space in my kitchen... As I've said before, my kitchen is not nice, and I am slowly replacing different things in there and the rest of the tiny aluminum cottage that I live in. I think it will work out nicely.