And commence

22 comments

Ah, September. A month that bizarrely seems to provide more hours than any other time of the year. Days are still long and warm. Children are back at school. Everything seems doable. Hitting the ground running is a given.

We came back from holiday in Scotland at the weekend. Loved Edinburgh and a return trip is definitely in order. Climbed mountains and conquered lochs. Fabulous time, but I’ll save it for a later post.

(apple flapjack is my new favourite)

Needless to say, there was a mad dash to assemble the last of the school supplies before two of them went back on Tuesday. Youngest has joined his sisters at secondary school. He’s made friends and seems to like having his sisters around again. Some sweet stories come back each day.

Middle teen has been put in top sets this year, so she’s happy. They’ve radically changed how they structure the school, but I think she’ll get used to them.

Youngest is not the only one striding into a new beginning. Eldest teen has started sixth form. She did well in her GCSEs and is taking the options she wanted. She’s out of uniform now. Mixed blessing. Uniform is so easy, but restrictive. No uniform means lots of outfits. We’ll get there. Her text book list grows by the day too. She’s happy to be back with her friends and seems to be embracing the new study challenge.

And me, this week? I’m storming head first into my September routine.

I’ve set up a new cleaning system, which I think I can stick to. I love having a clean house, where I can find things but I’m extremely easy to distract.  – Ow, pretty wool. I could make a top out of this fabric. Who left these ribbons here? – Soon the vacuum is gathering its own dust, leaving the dust bunnies to roam wild.

I promise to try harder.

In contrast, jam jars are becoming an endangered resource in the kitchen.

While we were away, the yellow courgettes grew into yellow submarines. I’ve found four enormous ones so far, which would not be amiss in the garden of James and his famous giant peach. Thoughts of carving out the inside and setting up accommodation has crossed my mind. Quirky autumn breaks anyone? More realistically, I’m going to make courgette and ginger preserves. Grate others to freeze and use them for fritters and soup over the winter.

And where would I be if I didn’t start September with baskets of overlarge “mini” cucumbers? I suspect twiddling my thumbs. Never fear. I have them again this year. I’m building up a few preserve recipes, as I loathe to waste them. (One I read and hope to avoid is to slice, salt and leave them in the fridge overnight. Next day, sling them in the compost heap. Hmm.)

I can hardly ignore the elephant in the room. Windfall apples. Yes, we have them. No, I’m not keeping on top of it. I’ve made one batch of herb apple jelly and it is divine. I’m planning a rosemary version for this weekend, which is my favourite. Otherwise it is apple muffins, apple crumbles and apple flapjack. By the end of October, we will be 70% apple.

It’s a good job September is a productive month for me. I worked over the holidays, which means I’ve not got behind. Preparing for the colder months by filling my freezer and store cupboard would be that much harder if I was working all hours too.

No daily school run anymore, providing an extra couple of hours. Not to be sniffed at. A bonus this September. I’m taking longer walks with the hound, which doubles as my exercise, for the moment. I’ve still got to figure out how I can squeeze in a run. Craft wise, I’m knitting a jumper with a cable ribbing.

I’m still trying to figure out the best routine now all the children are sorted at school. Hoping to find more time to blog too. This week has felt like someone held up the starter firing device and we’ve all dashed off the blocks. Commencing with a big bang.

How was your week? Heck, how was your summer, it’s been so long? Hope you are loving September. Hmm… er…you know, thought I’d ask, but anyone for a …….cucumber? I’ve got plenty to spare.  🙂

Joining in with #wotw. My word is commence.

 

22 comments

  1. You’re so right about September, I always feel like September is my new year, my fresh start and I am so productive. Sounds like you are, too, and it must be good having those extra hours for long dog walks. I’m glad all three are settling well into school and their new challenges and well done to your eldest on her GCSEs x Thanks for sharing with #WotW

  2. It sounds like you had a lovely trip to Scotland and the return to school went well…Well done to your middle teen. That’s fab!
    Good luck with the new cleaning system.
    The apple jelly sounds amazing! I do love apple crumble at this time of year with plenty of custard.
    I don’t have a school run to do now either and I am finding it so strange. I am liking it though. x

    1. It is strange to no longer be tied to the school run, although I’ll still need to do a couple of late pick-ups. Yes, strange, but also liberating.

  3. I love cucumbers! And courgettes too but my attempts at growing them failed.
    I wish I had realised you were near to where we went on holiday. Sadly my grasp of geography is minimal. I would’ve loved to meet up. Next time!!
    I am inspired by your knitting. I have a few crochet projects to complete, then I’m going to buy some needles and have a bash. Hopefully youtube will help.
    No more school runs must be bittersweet. It’s a bonus to have more time to walk the dog though! How is he doing with training? #wotw

    1. Next time, for sure. Hope you had a good time. If only you had, I could have off loaded a courgette or two 😀
      Intrigued to see what your crochet project is like. I like having a knitting and a crochet project on the go, so I can pick up whichever I’m in the mood for.
      His training is going well. Working hard on his heel work. He is too big a dog to get that wrong. His recall training is fun. The sheep in the next field are fascinated and all line up when we start. He ignores them completely. 😀

  4. It sounds like you have been so busy with all the crops. Well done on the GCSE results its such a relief when its all over isnt it? It sounds like everything is changing for you all, I love Scotland and so want to do a trip next year, maybe a tour of a few areas x

    1. I love Scotland too. Many happy holidays up there. Hope you go next year. Thanks, it is a relief having one set of GCSEs out the way. Although I’m sure A’levels will seem to come around very quickly.

  5. I’d go for a holiday in a courgette, sounds quirky and at least you wouldn’t get hungry. It sounds like you’ve had a very productive crop this year, well done. I love courgettes, apples and cucumbers. I like the sound of apple flapjacks but they are my nemesis. I’ve made them so many times but they never seem to ‘set.’

    1. I’ll need to write up a business plan for my courgette break idea then! 😀 Good point on the hunger part. We love making flap jacks. The apples make this one quite moist, so it does start to resemble cake, but no-one seems to mind.

  6. Glad you had a lovely holiday and that Youngest is settling in well at secondary school and your eldest is enjoying sixth form. Sounds like you have lots to harvest at the moment and I like the sound of the courgette and ginger preserve and the apple flapjack. Will have to give that one a try myself. Good luck with trying to avoid distraction with the cleaning! #WotW

    1. Yes, so easily distracted, but already I can see the difference. I’m hoping that will keep me focused. There are so many preserves to make. I could spend all my time chopping and mixing.

  8. What a busy week!

    Having a routine calms me. I wish though that I can clean the house more. It just so hard to clean because like you I get easily distracted. You will find abandoned cleaning product in my house because I suddenly have an idea that I want to do instead =P

    #wotw

    1. Oh that sounds just like me. Dusters left on shelves and the vacuum in the middle of the room, still plugged in, because I really intended to come back to it. 😀 😉

  10. Your September sounds very like mine. My daughter will now be at school all day so I have a new routine to adjust to as well. I’m trying to clean and put my house in order while I work out how things will develop :o)

    #MMBC

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