Here's wishing all and everyone whom I know a happy and prosperous New Year. It's a time of year that I used to love especially whilst living in Zim as it was the big party in my home town of Karoi where you would meet up with 300 people, most of whom you would know and then finish up at the Twin River Inn for a breakfast or an early lunch.
In England it is slightly different and house parties are the main order of the day with mainly family and close friends. I'm not sure if it is that I am getting older, but I don't look forward to New Years as much I as I used to. Too many unkept new resolutions which are usually broken by the middle of January, but as each New Year approaches I can't help myself but write out the dreaded list. Each year I swear that it will be different, and is it........., of course not.
This coming year I am not going to set unrealistic resolutions, goals and targets but here are a few.
1. I will create a weekly post for a whole year, to give you a flavour of the sort of things that I am up to as well as share some of my thoughts and opinions. Advice and comments will be appreciated through out the year.
2. I am now officially an Obese Person weighing in at 16 stone, 224 pounds, 100 kgs, however you measure it, its fat! In order for me to be at an ideal weight I need to lose 47 pounds which is 3 and a bit stone. I am giving myself the whole year to loose it at about 4 pounds a month. Is that unrealistic probably, but have started so just as well carry on.
3. I have a patch of land at the back where I intend to grow most of my vegetables, some of my fruits and all of my eggs. I have seven chickens which I got as day old chicks. Unfortunately I was not able to sex them as day olds and neither was the woman who sold them to me, so guess what? Yes I ended up with three hens one of which is baron and 4 genuine Zanu PF cockerels, yes they aren't particularly well behaved. They unfortunately were all given names, by my children and I am not allowed to prepare them for the table. They have now been separated from the hens and I shall be adding to the hens in the spring.
I have always started the veggies off with enthusiasm at the beginning of the season, this tends to tail off in the middle of summer and interest is totally lost by the beginning of autumn and really don't get a great deal from it. This year is the year of abundance. I shall be making plenty of wine and cider this year. Oh yes this might not bode well for the old weight problem. I shall drink in moderation and get my mates to put on the weight!
Here are a few things that I hope to build over the coming year.
I am definitely going to build my Biltong Machine which I found on someones blog. See link. I really miss eating it as it is really expensive in the UK.
I want to have a stab at putting together an outdoor oven for some alfresco entertainment over the warmer days. I can see why I am putting on the pounds as everything seems geared to food and drink. Maybe by producing it myself I will hopefully burn shed loads of calories and get back to my racing snake physique.
4. I am looking forward to plenty of cricket and golf this summer. We have a cricket tour arranged for sunny Leicester which should be a good crack.
5. I intend to enjoy this coming year to the hilt and look forward to keeping you updated over the next 52 weeks.
So again wishing you all a happy New Year especially to all my family and friends in Zim who are having a tough time of it this year. It will change for the better soon!
Tuesday, 30 December 2008
Thursday, 2 October 2008
Cider Making
This year has been a fantastic year for apples and I am going to have a crack a making one of my favourite summer and autumn tipples, CIDER, OOO RRR.
Our family has been put to work gathering the apples including the cat who has mastered the technique of scrumping.
Will keep you posted on how we get along so hope you enjoy the journey as much as I am going to!
Well it was on a Wednesday frosty morning and I had access to the apple crusher and cider press. Most of my apples had gone rotten and so I was only able to muster about a barrow full. See the apple crusher set up in a not very safe or sophisticated way! What I did was put the apples in the green box and chopped them up with my shovel until they were in smaller chunks. They were then put into the old crusher and crushed. Don't worry they never landed on the floor as I had a tray to catch it in.
After they were mashed up my camera ran out of batteries and I wasn't able to record the fun bit of pressing the mummas. See apple press below
The barrow full gave me about a gallon and a little bit. I sieved this through, put it in a clean demijohn added bread yeast with a bit of sugar, popped in an air lock and now it is happily popping away in my airing cupboard. With the other bit I also put that in a demijohn but added water, sugar and yeast to try and make an apple wine in about five to six months time. The cider should be ready round about Feb. Lets drink those winter blues away.
Our family has been put to work gathering the apples including the cat who has mastered the technique of scrumping.Will keep you posted on how we get along so hope you enjoy the journey as much as I am going to!
Well it was on a Wednesday frosty morning and I had access to the apple crusher and cider press. Most of my apples had gone rotten and so I was only able to muster about a barrow full. See the apple crusher set up in a not very safe or sophisticated way! What I did was put the apples in the green box and chopped them up with my shovel until they were in smaller chunks. They were then put into the old crusher and crushed. Don't worry they never landed on the floor as I had a tray to catch it in.
After they were mashed up my camera ran out of batteries and I wasn't able to record the fun bit of pressing the mummas. See apple press below
The barrow full gave me about a gallon and a little bit. I sieved this through, put it in a clean demijohn added bread yeast with a bit of sugar, popped in an air lock and now it is happily popping away in my airing cupboard. With the other bit I also put that in a demijohn but added water, sugar and yeast to try and make an apple wine in about five to six months time. The cider should be ready round about Feb. Lets drink those winter blues away.
Sunday, 1 June 2008
Exploding Barbecue
We had a fantastic day away last Friday to the wonderful town of Lyme Regis on the Dorset coast. It's well known by fossil hunters, (not the grab a granny variety), but genuine fossils found in the rock.
After an enjoyable afternoon spent on the beach it was decided that a barbecue was just the ticket. "Lets have it on the beach" suggested sister in law who had just shelled £2-99 on some charcoal. Excellent idea, so I proceeded to build up the fire under a small foldaway frame. "Look, you need to build the fire higher as the tray won't get hot, stupid!" Not a problem, "I'll put in some of these big pebbles in shall I? " Nod Nod. "Dad said that sometimes beach pebbles can explode." I think, "Yea, Yea what does the old fossil know, he's always erring on the side of over cautious!"
I then light the flammable bags and hey presto we have lift off. Hmmm I can imagine just how fantastic this is going to be once the coals are hot enough. "Bring the grub down will yah!"
It started off with a few little crackles, then the occasional pop. "Stand back kids this is looking decidedly on the dodgey side of things". Knowing full well that this could be a massive disaster pride gets the better of me and I fire on the burgers whilst dodging the pops with perhaps little bangs and charcoal flying everywhere. "No kids I really mean it, stand well back this is really getting dangerous!" BANG or even a massive KAPOW and most the burgers have hit the deck. Passers by look terrified and take a wide berth of the master chefs barbie. "Yea, Yea I can read your mind","I know I'm not the sharpest tool in box", "and SHIT my foot is rather warm, in fact very warm, it's on FIRE!" I jump up and down and rub my foot in the sand. My shoe is ruined and if it wasn't for the quick thinking ladies in the family so would have the barbecue, but they used the stove in the shack to finish cooking everything.
As for the punishment, I was summoned to climb a massive mountain to go to Co-op to get a chilled bottle of wine. On my return, "do you know I had to climb this seriously steep hill to get your grog. Response, "You idiot you went the wrong way!". There are just some days when you know its not your day and that was certainly one of them.
The kids have been telling Grandad that story with absolute wreckless abandon, and I thought I'd give my account of the story.
After an enjoyable afternoon spent on the beach it was decided that a barbecue was just the ticket. "Lets have it on the beach" suggested sister in law who had just shelled £2-99 on some charcoal. Excellent idea, so I proceeded to build up the fire under a small foldaway frame. "Look, you need to build the fire higher as the tray won't get hot, stupid!" Not a problem, "I'll put in some of these big pebbles in shall I? " Nod Nod. "Dad said that sometimes beach pebbles can explode." I think, "Yea, Yea what does the old fossil know, he's always erring on the side of over cautious!"
I then light the flammable bags and hey presto we have lift off. Hmmm I can imagine just how fantastic this is going to be once the coals are hot enough. "Bring the grub down will yah!"
It started off with a few little crackles, then the occasional pop. "Stand back kids this is looking decidedly on the dodgey side of things". Knowing full well that this could be a massive disaster pride gets the better of me and I fire on the burgers whilst dodging the pops with perhaps little bangs and charcoal flying everywhere. "No kids I really mean it, stand well back this is really getting dangerous!" BANG or even a massive KAPOW and most the burgers have hit the deck. Passers by look terrified and take a wide berth of the master chefs barbie. "Yea, Yea I can read your mind","I know I'm not the sharpest tool in box", "and SHIT my foot is rather warm, in fact very warm, it's on FIRE!" I jump up and down and rub my foot in the sand. My shoe is ruined and if it wasn't for the quick thinking ladies in the family so would have the barbecue, but they used the stove in the shack to finish cooking everything.
As for the punishment, I was summoned to climb a massive mountain to go to Co-op to get a chilled bottle of wine. On my return, "do you know I had to climb this seriously steep hill to get your grog. Response, "You idiot you went the wrong way!". There are just some days when you know its not your day and that was certainly one of them.
The kids have been telling Grandad that story with absolute wreckless abandon, and I thought I'd give my account of the story.
My Burnt Shoe!
Tuesday, 29 April 2008
Wednesday, 12 March 2008
Meet the Gang
Meet the Country Bunchkin Gang, who consist of 4 cockerels and 3 hens. Lesson learn t don't buy day old chicks unless you know what sex they are! Above are Humphrey, Herb and Yoda. Humphrey is the main man and keeps the gang in order.
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