2017 Goals ~ Let’s go with Healthy, Wealthy and Wise… and a couple donkeys

I absolutely adore that the advent of the New Year gives one a sense of renewal, a chance to reflect and consequently focus on ones short and long term goals.  We have lots of changes planned for 2017 and, I must say, yes, I must, that we are very, very excited (and a teeny bit scared).  We will be putting all our eggs into our  entrepreneurial basket and focusing our time specifically ~ Pumpjack’s to our new wine business Terroir au Verre and me, Piddlewick, to my Pumpjack & Piddlewick  Shop and the life that goes on behind it, so our blog will get a bit of a face lift too this year.

Welcome 2017! It’s make or break time.
(Hmmm, maybe not a good euphemism when talking about entrepreneurial eggs.)

Morning Coffee – time to rejuvenate and rehydrate my skin

I wrote a post about this ages ago, but decided today that anything worth doing, is worth doing again. And yesterday I treated myself to just this concept, making the time to make my luscious coffee scrub again. This time of year, dark, dank and muddy for us, just begged me to cheer myself up with this treat. My skin has been feeling so dry, what with the heating on and lots of wool clothing, so needs must, and my goodness I feel rejuvenated, rehydrated and ready to take on the rest of winter.

Building new pallet beds, Part 1 ~ Getting our excuses in early and planting late

If you have followed the weather at all here in France, particularly Northern Burgundy, you will know we have had rain. Rain, rain, rain. Plu, plu, plu. (Don’t you just love the French word for rain? It sounds just like a drop of rain hitting a surface.) Needless to say, all this rain has had a bit of an affect on the garden. Add in a deep frost at the end of April and storms in May, and I have to say I am so glad I have been really lazy this year where the garden is concerned.  Ah, what I mean is… I waited with due diligence until there was an opportunity to truly work on it.

Making a Vertical Garden – recycling the previous year

Last year was our first year working our vegetable garden (our first time gardening ever in fact) and we tried a series of different methods; raised beds, wattling bed, pallet planters and vertical hanging wall, to see what worked well. All were made using recycled materials and are being continued into this year, with almost no changes except for a relocation of some of the pallet planters and a some amendments to the vertical garden as a result of lessons learned.

What’s In Store – From Us To You

We have been travelling the world for the last few years, making wine. In 2014, we took a leap, to follow our dream and make our own wine in France. To assist in supporting this dream, and with true entrepreneurial spirit, we are also putting our creative juices (or should that be wine?) to the fore in making a variety of additional items, crafted from the world around us, to sell in our shop Pumpjack & Piddlewick.

Making a Hanging Garden Bed

I admit it wholeheartedly, I am in love with pallets. They are right up there with shipping containers in versatility ~ but maybe, just slightly, more transportable and easier to work with. So, when I came across a picture on Pinterest for a hanging garden bed made from pallets, I fell in love. It went top of the project list

Turning my hand to handmade beauty products

Something I have been aware of as I get older is the sheer quantity of chemicals I have been putting on my skin over time.  It took moving to the countryside and a complete lifestyle change (and a lack of expendable money) to finally get me to do something about it. And now I am asking ~ what took me so long?!?

Breakfast in Bed Pallet Headboard

Today was a lovely day. Sun shining, daffodils starting to show their faces, hanging out with  the rabbits this morning. And, I built a simple headboard out of pallets, complete with shelf and hanging pockets for pillows so we can lean against whilst having our breakfast in bed, comfortably, everyday. Tick – off the list.

How to – Vertical Garden Planting ~ using recycled milk bottles

Every time I tweet about our recycled milk bottle, wall garden I get lots of interest. And it kind of makes sense. After all, the cost is minimal, the space is minimal – could be done almost anywhere you have a vertical space, inside, outside – and looks rather cool (at least I think so).

Loosing My Garden Virginity

Last year this time I was a garden virgin.  In fact, I would have declared easily that I had a brown thumb. My mother has the most amazing green thumb, so I have always felt extremely disappointed that I didn’t inherit an iota of her talent ~ I managed to kill (mostly through kindness, I hasten to add) every plant she ever gave me, even the ones she said were impossible to kill.  However, that never meant I was willing to give up.