Right, I know that I keep on saying it, but let’s get this little Blog project back on track and try to keep it that way. I keep on making excuses for my lack of updates, but if I’m brutally honest, I’ve just been struggling for motivation and focus recently, which isn’t really an excuse at all. I’m sure that you've all had enough of hearing about my seemingly never-ending bout of injuries too, which hasn’t been helping with the mental side of things either. But I do finally think that things are on the mend. I still think that I’m a fair way from a full return to running, and even when I do eventually get back running, there’s going to be a long slow battle to regain anywhere near the fitness and stamina I did have. But my knees are definitely getting stronger, and I'm hoping I've finally turned a corner on that front. I’ve had a few weekends off the bike recently too, which seems to be helping on the injuries front, although the miles continue to mount up with the weekday commute, so I’ve not been totally lazy. I suppose this leaves one big unanswered question though. If I’ve not been running, and I’ve not been out playing bikes, then what have I been up to? Well, for a start, judging from the weather over the last month or so, I certainly don't feel like I’ve been missing anything. I don’t think that there’s been a weekend when it hasn’t rained since June, and I certainly haven’t missed getting wet, that’s for sure. What I have been doing, is actually enjoying doing some of the things that I’ve been neglecting over the past few years, while I’ve been busy adventuring. For a start the allotment looks better than it has for a long time and I’ve been really enjoying spending a peaceful couple of hours pottering around, chatting to my plot neighbours and generally enjoying the place on a weekend morning. Instead of rushing around trying to get things watered and under control before rushing off for yet another weekend away. The rains certainly helped with keeping things growing too. I don't think I've ever picked so many Runner and French beans, and there's still more to come. The greenhouse has been equally as productive too, and I’ve eaten more Cucumbers than I know what to do with, and given away even more. Likewise the Tomatoes are laden down with fruit, the Sweetcorn looks like it will be ready in the next couple of weeks, the Beetroot are the size of tennis balls and more then ready to start harvesting, and we’ve been scoffing Potatoes, baby Leeks, Carrots and Courgettes like it’s going out of fashion! Surprisingly, the rain seems to have kept a lot of the pests and bugs away too. The last few years the Broad and Runner beans have been massacred by Black Fly, but this year, I haven't seen any. Likewise, it's normally a battle keeping the Cabbage White Butterfly caterpillars from devouring all the cabbages, but again I've hardly seen any this year. It might have been a miserable few weeks of summer, but I suppose every cloud has a silver lining, and we need to be grateful for small miracles. I’ve been busy on other projects too, in fact the last few weekends have been spent on what will hopefully become a bit of a long term big project. I’m not going to reveal what that's going to be just yet, as there’s a lot of background work to be done first. But, this idea has been knocking around in the back of my mind for quite some time, but has never been even close to coming to life due to a lack of space. That all changed a couple of weeks ago when I managed to acquire another rental garage right outside our house. Now, you’ll note that I said another there, as I’ve already got a garage, but it’s crammed to bursting point with bikes, tools, DIY stuff, and assorted treasure, that’s far too useful to throw away and comes in handy on a regular basis. “The Emma” says that garages are for keeping cars in, but I note that she’s got a bike hanging up in mine, and when the BBQ comes out she doesn't seem to notice that it’s been stored in my garage all winter. Likewise when she wanted a bit of wood for something the storage garage provided, so it would appear that she’s wrong on that front! The plan for this new space isn’t to fill it full of treasure though, it’s to keep it as a workable space. Somewhere that I can actually do some work without getting wet. Obviously my little workshop’s dry, but it’s significantly limited on space. Even having made the best use of every spare inch I can, there’s not even room to swing a cat, let alone cut up an 8’x4’ sheet of plywood, or work on a car. To that end, whilst a drafty, dark, old, garage is dry, it’s not a very pleasant place to do any real work, so before I even think about embarking on a long term project, I’ve been busy making a usable space. And you know what, I’ve been having a great time doing it. Making and fixing stuff has always been the real passion in my life, and it’s something that I’ve not really done for the last few years due to the running and cycling taking over. Yes, the allotment has still been ongoing in the background, and I’ve had a couple of other little projects bubbling along, but this has been something to really get my hands stuck into and get the old grey matter working, and I’ve been loving it. I’ve forgotten about all my aches and pains, I’ve enjoyed a few weekends off the bike and I’ve made what will hopefully be a really useful space and lead to even bigger things over the next few months. And at the same time, I feel refreshed and reinvigorated and I’m looking forward to getting back on the bike next weekend for a bit of Audaxing. But before we go back to playing bikes, let's have a few pictures of what’s been occupying my time!
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Paul PerrattOld enough to know better, young enough to still feel invincible, stupid enough to keep on trying the same thing again and again. Cyclist, Gardener, Runner, Hiker, Cook, Woodworker, Engineer, Jack of all trades and master of none, Anti social old git and all round miserable bugger. Archives
March 2024
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