I am beyond excited! Miss Twinset over there is beyond confused and the other one... well, the other one doesn't get it at all. I suppose I can't call her the "other one" for ever now can I? I was thinking about calling her "the cabbage", but it might be too confusing if I needed to refer to cabbage in a recipe some day and heaven forbid that it should seem that I'm condoning canabalism. I don't. Contrary to popular folklore... we are NOT the other white meet. No, we're not the other African or Mexican or Chinese meat either. It's an expression, not a comment on race. Short of being marooned in the Andes or on an island, it's not even remotely ok to consider eating another person. Now, where was I... oh yes, what are we going to call the other one? You see, Miss Twinset wanted me to point out that she was the star of our first conversation and from that it would be pretty clear that she does actually know how to cook. Her store cupboard may be more fluid than most bank accounts, but she does know her colander from her cooker. It's "the other one" that didn't know what the kitchen was. She has a point. So. That brings us again to the naming of the other one... I think we'll have to wait until a suitable moniker comes to me.
In the meantime, let's get back to why I'm so excited. You'd forgotten, hadn't you. It was the first thing I said... I'll wait while you go back and check. See? :-) I'm beyond excited because my apricot tree is finally getting some leaves again :-) It's the little things in life that can be the most satisfying. For months there has been nothing, but just this past week, there are tiny, fresh buds on all the branches, some are beginning to open, barely hinting at tiny, green leaves inside and then ther
e are some that are already open :-) Ok. You're looking as confused as they are. Yes, I'm aware that it's a tree. Well, technically it's a tree. At present it's an enthusiastic but scrawny branch with some twigs protruding off of it. It will grow into a tree though some day and until then, it's being verbally encouraged to do so. According to the label, this type of tree will produce fruit in November, although this particular specimen is probably too young still. I'm still completely curious to see what happens this year though. It's exciting. Maybe there'll be flowers or maybe there won't. It's like waiting for a Christmas present to unfold before your very eyes. Or an excercise in Zen Thinking, because no matter how much you'd like it to happen faster, it's not going to. You simply have to wait.
Why would I want to grow my own? Miss Twinset makes the valid point that when they're in season, I could just buy myself some apricots. That's not the point though. The point is to take control of what we eat, what we use. Even if this tree produces fruit, the chances of me getting enough to do anything useful with for the next few years is slim. One day though... aaah. One day it'll be a different story. I'll use my apricots in salads or maybe a Moroccan Tagine... the possibilities are endless. That one - "other one" - wants to know what the point is then. The point is to grow my own. To know where the fruit came from and to know that I grew it. You see, I'm not a particularly talented gardener - I could probably kill soil if I didn't pay attention - but I'm a dedicated learner and I love the challenge. Besides - in case you haven't worked it out yet - the whole point of this blog is to start my own personal revolution amongst the people of "my" generation. Oh heck - the people of any generation! To get you away from the pc (after you've read my blog!!) and into the garden or the kitchen. To get you to knit. No, not the "bugs" that live in your hair. It's a handcraft involving needles and wool. No, not like the sewing needles, these are different. Don't stress about it for now, we'll cover knitting later.
So, what kinds of things am I growing? Well, it's only my first season of trying, but the house came with a lemon tree, an orange tree and a naartjie tree and I figured that's a good start! Since I decided to grow things, I've added tomatoes, broad beans and chilies (which is quite amusing as I don't eat chilies. At all. Never.) but I have huge plans to expand! I have an olive tree, a pear tree and of course, my apricot tree. Not exactly a roaring farm trade, but it's a good start!
Now, the chances of me getting Miss Twinset into the garden and getting her hands dirty are pretty remote, but I'm going to keep trying! In the meantime, go out and plant something. Something useful. Don't be like me, enthusiastically planting chilies that have no purpose in my garden. Ok, they're decorative, but that's their only purpose... just like some people I know!
Until next time!
In the meantime, let's get back to why I'm so excited. You'd forgotten, hadn't you. It was the first thing I said... I'll wait while you go back and check. See? :-) I'm beyond excited because my apricot tree is finally getting some leaves again :-) It's the little things in life that can be the most satisfying. For months there has been nothing, but just this past week, there are tiny, fresh buds on all the branches, some are beginning to open, barely hinting at tiny, green leaves inside and then ther
e are some that are already open :-) Ok. You're looking as confused as they are. Yes, I'm aware that it's a tree. Well, technically it's a tree. At present it's an enthusiastic but scrawny branch with some twigs protruding off of it. It will grow into a tree though some day and until then, it's being verbally encouraged to do so. According to the label, this type of tree will produce fruit in November, although this particular specimen is probably too young still. I'm still completely curious to see what happens this year though. It's exciting. Maybe there'll be flowers or maybe there won't. It's like waiting for a Christmas present to unfold before your very eyes. Or an excercise in Zen Thinking, because no matter how much you'd like it to happen faster, it's not going to. You simply have to wait.Why would I want to grow my own? Miss Twinset makes the valid point that when they're in season, I could just buy myself some apricots. That's not the point though. The point is to take control of what we eat, what we use. Even if this tree produces fruit, the chances of me getting enough to do anything useful with for the next few years is slim. One day though... aaah. One day it'll be a different story. I'll use my apricots in salads or maybe a Moroccan Tagine... the possibilities are endless. That one - "other one" - wants to know what the point is then. The point is to grow my own. To know where the fruit came from and to know that I grew it. You see, I'm not a particularly talented gardener - I could probably kill soil if I didn't pay attention - but I'm a dedicated learner and I love the challenge. Besides - in case you haven't worked it out yet - the whole point of this blog is to start my own personal revolution amongst the people of "my" generation. Oh heck - the people of any generation! To get you away from the pc (after you've read my blog!!) and into the garden or the kitchen. To get you to knit. No, not the "bugs" that live in your hair. It's a handcraft involving needles and wool. No, not like the sewing needles, these are different. Don't stress about it for now, we'll cover knitting later.
So, what kinds of things am I growing? Well, it's only my first season of trying, but the house came with a lemon tree, an orange tree and a naartjie tree and I figured that's a good start! Since I decided to grow things, I've added tomatoes, broad beans and chilies (which is quite amusing as I don't eat chilies. At all. Never.) but I have huge plans to expand! I have an olive tree, a pear tree and of course, my apricot tree. Not exactly a roaring farm trade, but it's a good start!
Now, the chances of me getting Miss Twinset into the garden and getting her hands dirty are pretty remote, but I'm going to keep trying! In the meantime, go out and plant something. Something useful. Don't be like me, enthusiastically planting chilies that have no purpose in my garden. Ok, they're decorative, but that's their only purpose... just like some people I know!Believe me, it's a satisfying sensation to go out and grab something fresh out of your own garden instead of running off to the supermarket for everything and besides - it puts you ever so slightly ahead of the perfectly manicured Twinsets of the world ;-)
Until next time!
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