Billy Young's Blog - Posts Tagged "blueberries"
27th August 2010
Work, work, work is all I seem to have done this week. Overtime every night this week as well as last Saturday and I have more tomorrow. So as you can imagine I am fairly tuckered out, but in a good way. Because of all the extra work I haven’t had much time for anything else. It’s been one of those go to work, come home and eat dinner before heading off to bed, sort of weeks. As I said work, work, work.
My other half is reading through my story though I not sure how she is getting on. Last we spoke of it was a couple of nights ago and I was telling her to write down her suggestions. My little lemon tree seems to have decided it doesn’t want to live. Even the new shoots that appeared a few weeks back have withered. I don’t seem to have much luck with citrus trees as the wife’s attempt at an orange tree has also faded fast over the past week or two and it was doing well before that. It’s almost like this house has a thing against plants as I have struggled with other plants. There just doesn’t seem to be a place, a window or room for growing things. Usually you find there is such a room don’t you? But not this house. Though my garden plants seem to be doing very well, last weekend I got my first crop of blueberries, Now to wait and see what the wife is going to do with them as there isn’t enough for making wine with, maybe next year.
My other half is reading through my story though I not sure how she is getting on. Last we spoke of it was a couple of nights ago and I was telling her to write down her suggestions. My little lemon tree seems to have decided it doesn’t want to live. Even the new shoots that appeared a few weeks back have withered. I don’t seem to have much luck with citrus trees as the wife’s attempt at an orange tree has also faded fast over the past week or two and it was doing well before that. It’s almost like this house has a thing against plants as I have struggled with other plants. There just doesn’t seem to be a place, a window or room for growing things. Usually you find there is such a room don’t you? But not this house. Though my garden plants seem to be doing very well, last weekend I got my first crop of blueberries, Now to wait and see what the wife is going to do with them as there isn’t enough for making wine with, maybe next year.
3rd September 2010
It has been a great week weather wise as well as working. Only had overtime last night, which made the week fly by. What’s more I don’t have any tomorrow, so a full weekend to relax. Not sure what I will do with time, but I am looking forwards to a long lie in. Though I must admit the extra pennies that the overtime I did last week looked good on my wage slip this week.
I’ve been picking blueberries from my bush I got last year. My wife made a couple of pies from them, unfortunately one ended on the floor. My daughter dropped it in her eagerness to help her mum. As you can imagine my wife Magz was mighty disappointed as the smell wafted up to her nostrils telling how good it would have been. The dog did seem to have a big happy smile on its face afterwards. I might even get enough off of the bush for another pie, yum.
Magz is still reading through my new story. She reads each chapter a couple of times. She says that’s because the first read is to enjoy the tale and the second time is to really look for the errors. When I try that I find the second time the words just mash together and I can’t really see the mistakes. I like to break it down into paragraphs and read them twice. Maybe she just has a better span of attention than I do.
I think I just might do a little gardening tomorrow. I see the weather isn’t to be to bad but may get a bit of cloud as the day goes on. And that blueberry pie needs the berries pickin’.
I’ve been picking blueberries from my bush I got last year. My wife made a couple of pies from them, unfortunately one ended on the floor. My daughter dropped it in her eagerness to help her mum. As you can imagine my wife Magz was mighty disappointed as the smell wafted up to her nostrils telling how good it would have been. The dog did seem to have a big happy smile on its face afterwards. I might even get enough off of the bush for another pie, yum.
Magz is still reading through my new story. She reads each chapter a couple of times. She says that’s because the first read is to enjoy the tale and the second time is to really look for the errors. When I try that I find the second time the words just mash together and I can’t really see the mistakes. I like to break it down into paragraphs and read them twice. Maybe she just has a better span of attention than I do.
I think I just might do a little gardening tomorrow. I see the weather isn’t to be to bad but may get a bit of cloud as the day goes on. And that blueberry pie needs the berries pickin’.
5th August 2011
My work has put me forward for the SVQ (Scottish Vocational Qualification) in Food Handling. It is a job related qualification that you do in your own time which means I have some homework, feels a bit like school, this weekend. I have the first two modules to read through and fill in the answers, all pretty straight forwards really. The whole thing is over the next year and at the end I get a certificate to show for the effort. One thing that it seems to show is that I should be working this time next year as well as the time in between as until now I haven’t been told or even given a contract of employment. Not that every job I’ve had came with a contract but it does give you a more settled feeling. Saying that the place I work isn’t that bad, in fact it is rather relaxed which I enjoy. The work isn’t really that hard either unless your doing Dave’s job of loading the baskets, a right back-breaker that job is. Most of the other jobs around the factory are easy compared to that. Well at least doing the SVQ gives me some security in these uncertain times.
My peas are flowering again so I’m looking forwards to a second crop in a month or so. I’m glad I put netting over my blueberries this year as the wife saw a bird trying hard to get at them. I don’t think I’ll have as good a crop as last year but there’s a month or two before they’ll be ready so who knows. While my potatoes are now pushing up out of the soil in the sacks I’ve got them growing in, so they’re promising a bumper crop this year. All this talk of the garden reminds me I need to get my hedges trimmed tomorrow if the weather is with me. I also need to get more weeding done around my strawberries and fruit trees. It shouldn’t take me long, of course that all depends on the weather which it’s looking like rain from where I’m sitting just now. Hopefully it won’t come to anything.
My peas are flowering again so I’m looking forwards to a second crop in a month or so. I’m glad I put netting over my blueberries this year as the wife saw a bird trying hard to get at them. I don’t think I’ll have as good a crop as last year but there’s a month or two before they’ll be ready so who knows. While my potatoes are now pushing up out of the soil in the sacks I’ve got them growing in, so they’re promising a bumper crop this year. All this talk of the garden reminds me I need to get my hedges trimmed tomorrow if the weather is with me. I also need to get more weeding done around my strawberries and fruit trees. It shouldn’t take me long, of course that all depends on the weather which it’s looking like rain from where I’m sitting just now. Hopefully it won’t come to anything.
2nd September 2011
Autumn is officially with us though the leaves have hardly started to change colour, though I have begun to harvest my blueberries for Magz to make a pie with. I’m also hoping for enough to make some more wine with. I have decanted the gooseberry wine off of its leas last weekend again, hopefully for the last time before bottling in a week. I put it on to the cold-stone, yes you still find them in some houses, in our kitchen cupboard to help draw the sediment down to the bottom of the demijohn. This weekend I’ll just leave it to clear some more while I collect more blueberries for Magz then I’ll see if I have enough for myself, which is as long as the invisible man leaves them alone.
The reinstall of Windows went well, better than expected really. I was reconnected to the web within three hours which is good for XP. It did take a bit longer to get my system fully equipped with most of the main programmes that I use most. I did make or almost made a rooky mistake and forgot to put on my antivirus, firewall, etc. I only remembered as that self satisfied feeling of achieving the difficult began settling on me. At which point I felt a rising panic before reason took hold and guided me to the sites to get them download afresh. At that the crisis was over but it did teach me for being so self satisfied in future. Well maybe not.
I might have a game of Civ5 this weekend. I have that old yearning to conquer again. You know how it is, you don’t play a game for ages then suddenly the bug bites again and you just have too…
The reinstall of Windows went well, better than expected really. I was reconnected to the web within three hours which is good for XP. It did take a bit longer to get my system fully equipped with most of the main programmes that I use most. I did make or almost made a rooky mistake and forgot to put on my antivirus, firewall, etc. I only remembered as that self satisfied feeling of achieving the difficult began settling on me. At which point I felt a rising panic before reason took hold and guided me to the sites to get them download afresh. At that the crisis was over but it did teach me for being so self satisfied in future. Well maybe not.
I might have a game of Civ5 this weekend. I have that old yearning to conquer again. You know how it is, you don’t play a game for ages then suddenly the bug bites again and you just have too…
9th September 2011
Magz didn’t make the blueberry pies last weekend. No, instead my daughter got there first. Unfortunately she isn’t the greatest chef so the pastry was a little on the thick side. She is going through a stage where she feels she has to experiment in the kitchen. I think it has something to do with Magz not keeping very well. Her Diverticulitis is causing her a lot of pain at the moment. She had some more blood test this week and is now to go for more scan in a couple of week’s time. Sadly I will be at work so my sister will go with her. Of course that doesn’t stop Tammy from making the kitchen an eye sore or trying hard to give me indigestion, hehehe.
She was also going to steal the rest of my blueberries that I’m earmarking for wine. I just managed to stop her. I will need more but there are still plenty on the bush yet to ripen. My apples are also coming on well and I’m pretty sure which is which now. Well it isn’t hard as you usually find that the cooking apples are larger. Magz is determined that Tammy won’t get her hands on them but that will probably change by the time they are ready for picking in a week or two, at least that is my guess.
I’ve been quite pleased with the produce from my garden this year. Though it may be small I do manage to get a lot out of it for its size. Though it would never be enough to feed the family you can’t beat the feeling of growing something for the table. It also taste better though that could just be me.
She was also going to steal the rest of my blueberries that I’m earmarking for wine. I just managed to stop her. I will need more but there are still plenty on the bush yet to ripen. My apples are also coming on well and I’m pretty sure which is which now. Well it isn’t hard as you usually find that the cooking apples are larger. Magz is determined that Tammy won’t get her hands on them but that will probably change by the time they are ready for picking in a week or two, at least that is my guess.
I’ve been quite pleased with the produce from my garden this year. Though it may be small I do manage to get a lot out of it for its size. Though it would never be enough to feed the family you can’t beat the feeling of growing something for the table. It also taste better though that could just be me.
12th April 2014
I'm on holiday for the Easter break, yeah. A full week off and a chance to see to my garden. Today I was away buying some seeds, corn, basil, coriander, and parsnips to plant in the coming week. I also got lettuce, courgette, and tomatoes that were already started off. Those I will plant tomorrow as I heard there might be a frost tonight so want to spare them that. Sometimes we treat plants like they were children don't we. Forgetting that they are a lot tougher than we think. Mind it doesn't do any harm and unlike our kids they won't complain if we molly cuddle them. I still have to visit the garden centre at the bottom end of town in the coming week to get anything else that I need for the coming season. I will also need to decide what other greenery I wish to try to grow for the plate this year. I already have potatoes in their sack, carrot seeds in one pot and of course onions in their tubs in the veg. department. And thyme, rosemary, mint, and oregano in the herb. Then we have my apple trees, cherry trees (which I still have yet to get a crop from), gooseberry bush, blueberry bush, rhubarb, and strawberries. For such a small garden we do quite well in growing some crops for our enjoyment which isn't just in the eating, hehehe. Of course it ain't all joy as the war on local fauna has started all over again. Yes weeds as we gardeners call them are a very resilient lot forcing us into the never ending battle to protect our cherished gardens from their assault. We may never really win but still we shall battle to give out baby plants a chance to grow to full deliciousness.
16th August 2014
My miners have been mining for a week now and I have earned less than I was hoping. That is mainly due to the fact that it is costing more on electric than I had expected. To cover the cost I sold 0.1 btc which I will need to earn each week to keep my miners running. It takes at present difficulty about four to five days to earn this depending on the luck of the pool. Of course that is me paying for almost all the electric consumed by the house. This will continue until I earn less then I will give Magz the proceeds of 0.1 every two weeks. That is roughly what the real cost of running the miners is. What all this means is it will take a long time to achieve my ROI but I should still make it back eventually and with a small profit.
It is raining again so I decide just to stay indoors. I did want to check on the garden but not in the rain. Last Sunday I got the grass cut Front and back. It grows so fast with all the rain then the sun feeding it. It is sometimes hard to keep up with. Still what can you do other than keep on top of it. I started picking the blueberries last week. I notice a couple were ripe and as I look out the window I can see more. Of course there still aren't enough for a pie yet. There will be over the next few weeks. I can also see my cooking apple tree is suffering from the weight of fruit on its branches. Hopefully we will have drier weather tomorrow or I will need to face the drops of moisture so I can check on everything. Aye well skin is water resistant after all or so I've been told.
It is raining again so I decide just to stay indoors. I did want to check on the garden but not in the rain. Last Sunday I got the grass cut Front and back. It grows so fast with all the rain then the sun feeding it. It is sometimes hard to keep up with. Still what can you do other than keep on top of it. I started picking the blueberries last week. I notice a couple were ripe and as I look out the window I can see more. Of course there still aren't enough for a pie yet. There will be over the next few weeks. I can also see my cooking apple tree is suffering from the weight of fruit on its branches. Hopefully we will have drier weather tomorrow or I will need to face the drops of moisture so I can check on everything. Aye well skin is water resistant after all or so I've been told.
6th September 2014
I was out picking some tomatoes today. We didn't get many this year plus those we did are on the very small side. This year has not been the greatest harvest from the garden though some crops have done well. Those being the blueberries and cooking apples. Strawberries, peas, potatoes and onions have all been not to bad but they could have been better. Really I shouldn't complain as at least we did manage to get a good crop from some things and though the growing season is coming to a close I still have some things to keep an eye on. The strawberries have begun sending out their runners which means weeding tomorrow. The parsnips are beginning to die back which means I will soon find out how well they have done this year. And I still have some more carrots still to pull. The last lot were delicious.
More scare stories are being put round by both side in the referendum debate. The yes side are claiming that the Scottish NHS may be under threat from cuts if there is a no vote. When you hear both side argue over this it makes you wonder as this is already a devolved issue. Yet at the same time the Westminster government has said their will be further cuts to the Scottish block grant. This in turn would lead to cuts but I am not sure that these would be made to the NHS. So what would we lose? Well earlier in the year Scottish labour did give a hint to what they would cut. Student fees would be introduced, free prescription done away with and the freeze on council tax abolished. At least that was what the leader of Scottish Labour claimed at the beginning of the year. These policies would hurt me very much in the pocket and Magz needs a lot of medicines as you know. Then both of my children are now going to college now. Plus the council tax is a struggle to pay as it is without a rise which the SNP have protected us from.
Of course a yes result in the referendum doesn't mean these things are any safer from Labour. And if it was left to the far right then we would be paying just to see the doctor as it was in the bad old days. I'd hate to see those days return.
Of course the no camp would have us all believe the world will stop spinning if we vote yes. That Westminster will demand all Scotland's money leaving us skint and then they will rebuild Hadrian's wall. The list of things we would not be able to do is laughable at best and embarrassing for them. If they had won the argument over money maybe I would have been more inclined to listen but they didn't because they believe we should be afraid of the future without the Westminster government to stand at our backs. I think I'm more afraid of the thought of them being at my back than them not. After all for most of my life I have seen the damage that has been brought to bare on society by their policies. Poll Tax, the closing of Ravenscraig, and more recently the bedroom tax. Westminster is out of touch with us north of the border ands much of the rest of the UK. Will a Yes to independence change that? Will bring a full government to Scotland with full powers make it more in touch with our need? Will it make us better off? I don't know but I think it is better than what the other side is offering, more of the same.
More scare stories are being put round by both side in the referendum debate. The yes side are claiming that the Scottish NHS may be under threat from cuts if there is a no vote. When you hear both side argue over this it makes you wonder as this is already a devolved issue. Yet at the same time the Westminster government has said their will be further cuts to the Scottish block grant. This in turn would lead to cuts but I am not sure that these would be made to the NHS. So what would we lose? Well earlier in the year Scottish labour did give a hint to what they would cut. Student fees would be introduced, free prescription done away with and the freeze on council tax abolished. At least that was what the leader of Scottish Labour claimed at the beginning of the year. These policies would hurt me very much in the pocket and Magz needs a lot of medicines as you know. Then both of my children are now going to college now. Plus the council tax is a struggle to pay as it is without a rise which the SNP have protected us from.
Of course a yes result in the referendum doesn't mean these things are any safer from Labour. And if it was left to the far right then we would be paying just to see the doctor as it was in the bad old days. I'd hate to see those days return.
Of course the no camp would have us all believe the world will stop spinning if we vote yes. That Westminster will demand all Scotland's money leaving us skint and then they will rebuild Hadrian's wall. The list of things we would not be able to do is laughable at best and embarrassing for them. If they had won the argument over money maybe I would have been more inclined to listen but they didn't because they believe we should be afraid of the future without the Westminster government to stand at our backs. I think I'm more afraid of the thought of them being at my back than them not. After all for most of my life I have seen the damage that has been brought to bare on society by their policies. Poll Tax, the closing of Ravenscraig, and more recently the bedroom tax. Westminster is out of touch with us north of the border ands much of the rest of the UK. Will a Yes to independence change that? Will bring a full government to Scotland with full powers make it more in touch with our need? Will it make us better off? I don't know but I think it is better than what the other side is offering, more of the same.
13th Septamber 2014
Just in from picking more blueberries this week. It has been a really bumper year for them. Magz is planning to make crumble with some of tem tomorrow, hope she has custard, while my daughter wants muffins. Luckily there are enough for both and still loads more to be pick provided the wildlife doesn't raid them. I also picked carrots and parsnips. The parsnips were a little disappointing but the carrots are another tale. I left some of the root veggies that weren't really worth picking. the extra room will hopefully give them a chance to grow more. I also saw a small developing pumpkin as I tended to the garden. I am hopeful that it should develop into something worthy of Halloween, lets hope.
We are now into the final week of campaigning on my nations future direction. Should we be an independent nation? As you know I'm all for freeing ourselves from the shackles of Westminster. Mine is only one voice but as this week has unfolded I have been surrounded with similar voices to mine. The only time I have heard the voice of the no camp has been on TV. The news from the all the news outlet, TV, newspaper and radio, has been very much behind the Camp Fear as the no voter have become known. Yeah you have it they have been running a very depressing campaign warning how if we vote for or freedom the world will come to an end. On currencies they have been trying to tell people that if we vote yes our money will disappear overnight and we will all be broke. It is almost embarrassing. If I were a no voter I would be ashamed of these tactics as it makes them look like children having a temper tantrum in them middle of a supermarket. Oh and no we will all have to pay more for the food we buy. The list of negativity grows by the day I hope my nation and its people can see through the rubbish. That they can see the better future that could be ours by breaking away from the old tired regime that has not served the best interest of the people of Scotland. Rather It has squandered our wealth to further the prosperity of the elite in London while leaving us poorer. this is our time to show our Bravehearts to the world and vote Yes on Thursday.
We are now into the final week of campaigning on my nations future direction. Should we be an independent nation? As you know I'm all for freeing ourselves from the shackles of Westminster. Mine is only one voice but as this week has unfolded I have been surrounded with similar voices to mine. The only time I have heard the voice of the no camp has been on TV. The news from the all the news outlet, TV, newspaper and radio, has been very much behind the Camp Fear as the no voter have become known. Yeah you have it they have been running a very depressing campaign warning how if we vote for or freedom the world will come to an end. On currencies they have been trying to tell people that if we vote yes our money will disappear overnight and we will all be broke. It is almost embarrassing. If I were a no voter I would be ashamed of these tactics as it makes them look like children having a temper tantrum in them middle of a supermarket. Oh and no we will all have to pay more for the food we buy. The list of negativity grows by the day I hope my nation and its people can see through the rubbish. That they can see the better future that could be ours by breaking away from the old tired regime that has not served the best interest of the people of Scotland. Rather It has squandered our wealth to further the prosperity of the elite in London while leaving us poorer. this is our time to show our Bravehearts to the world and vote Yes on Thursday.
