Things I’ve Seen & Done in February

February was just one hot mess that I wanted to forget, but as it’s part of my 22 For 2022 list, here are some of the more positive things that happened this February.

I’m going back to the office more and more and exploring what Belgravia has to offer. There’s all the cute mews, lots of dogs and too many shops… that are far beyond my budget. What my bank account can handle is cumin gouda cheese from a local fancy grocery shop. I saw these. It was hard not to buy, but I’m thinking about the ones I hope will grow this year myself.

I’m very excited for veggie garden season 2022 and after two years of trying I feel like I know what I want to get out of the garden this year. I have planted the first batch of chili, pepper, tomato and tomatillo seeds. The potatoes are chitting. And the compost is … fermenting.

Yes… fermenting as I’m trying the bokashi method, a Japanese composting method where you ferment your veggie and fruit scraps with special bokashi brans. On my local council website, I found a good offer for starter kit bins and decided to give it a go as it seemed the most efficient option for me. It’s been a hit and miss as the bucket started leaking halfway through the process, which isn’t ideal as with this method you want to keep it air free. I’ve left it to ferment now for two weeks and then buried it with soil in another bin. In two weeks I’ll hopefully have the first batch of compost.

Then the storms came and the cabin I was supposed to go to for my birthday was sadly affected so I had to cancel. But that gave me time to go explore other things that are on my various London to-do lists, like revisiting Eltham Palace to check out the amazing Map Room. Imagine planning your 1920s trips here!

I also had a birthday lunch at Rochelle Canteen. There are places that are tucked away and then there is Rochelle Canteen … hidden behind the walls of the old Rochelle School. The food is very minimalistic but delicious. I mean if you can get Polenta, cream-spinach and egg to work then you know your thing.

Along this whole street, old baths were used as planters. I’m trying to get random objects to use as containers for my garden, so I love seeing this type of up-cycling as inspiration.

Had a catch-up at Gordon’s Winebar, which has been tooooo long. Took a shot of this bottle as it was really good.

When things go down a bit, I like to go back to one of my favourite lockdown hobbies: puzzling! I’ve received puzzles for birthdays and Christmas that I don’t really need to get any new ones for the foreseeable future.

Finally, a lot of my thoughts have been with Ukrainian people, having first-hand experience, I think a lot about the children … The kids that had to leave the beds in the middle of the night to hide in a makeshift cellar not sure what they’ll find when they go up again, the ones that had to run away leaving everything behind and the ones that will be caught between the two fronts. In addition to giving them my thoughts and prayers, I’ve also donated to causes as there is nothing else I can do.