I was already on a high with all the spring growth and sunny days when my niece phoned me on Wednesday evening. Kerry who was married in July 2007 is my eldest niece and my god daughter. She is expecting a baby in November, around the date of my birthday. So the little girl who first came to stay with us when she was three is going to be a Mum. I remember how she used to shake our cats bean bags and then bury her head in the middle to make a cosy hollow for them. As a toddler she went through a mad phase of talking about herself in the third person, Mum, she wants a drink etc. One time she said to me She wants to go to the toilet, OK off you go I replied, you can manage. Oh no was the reply, you take her, I took her last time. This is such exciting news, the first of a new generation for our family, my brother will be a grandfather, I shall be a great aunt. Actually I'm not that enamoured at being a great aunt and apparently neither are the other two great aunts to be who sat beside me at Kerry's wedding in the special Aunt's row second from the front. I have memories of my Gran's sisters, Alice, Emma and Kit, who seemed very old and not very interesting when I was a child. All three were widows who spent their days in chairs beside the fire, at least that's what they were doing whenever I went with Gran to visit. Obviously I won't be like that, I'll be in a chair beside the fire knitting.
It goes without saying that I am excited by all the knitting opportunities and while I'll have to wait to find out whether its a boy or girl before I start any clothes, I can press on with booties and blankets. I wonder if I can find a pattern for maternity socks.
Yes, I did check that the call wasn't an April Fool, it was after midday anyway.
I love Sarah Raven, I totally agree with her gardening and cooking philosophy, I want to be here. I knew she was married to the writer Adam Nicolson but I hadn't realised until watching the recent BBC Sissinghurst programme that the family had moved into the former home of Adam's grandmother Vita Sackville-West and were battling with the National Trust to turn the castle back to a working farm and garden providing fresh home grown ingredients to the restaurant. I can understand how this must have felt like wading through treacle. A friend of mine worked in the kitchens of a National Trust property in North Yorkshire, baking delicious cakes, scones and biscuits for the tea room there. When she took up the post the kitchen was producing tiny little scones, less than half the size of a normal one and selling them in pairs. My friend wanted to make bigger scones but she was never allowed to do this, she and I found the miniature ones really irritating and I imagine most of the customers did too.
I recently sent for Sarah's kitchen and garden catalogue, as much for inspiration as anything else. It contains a good selection of vegetable, herb and flower seeds, some beautiful collections and an array of great things for the garden, including an amazing pair of lace up boots that Sarah does wear herself. I spent a happy half hour yesterday sitting out on the patio drinking coffee, reading and wondering about those £75 boots.
Best of all I got a free packet of seeds with the catalogue, cream sweet pea Mrs Collier which scores 8/10 on Sarah's fragrance scale. I'd already started my sweet peas for this year but I did sow a few from the packet yesterday because I couldn't resist, I am keeping most of them for next year. So I've been busy in my own kitchen garden planting seeds, broad beans, sugar peas, spinach, salad leaves and some companion marigolds and chamomile, Mr FF says it's still too early for most of these but I think Sarah wanted me to do it.
As you see, t
I've only planted Christmas Cheer so far, the pale pink large flowered one on the left, but we have been motivated to clear out and prune some of the front garden to accommodate these treasures and for the moment they look very beautiful standing beside the front steps.
