Changing my publisher is very exciting, but a lot of hard work is involved. At the moment, I am updating my website, slowly but surely, and working on the final revision of Tuesday's Child, a follow on Regency novel from Sunday's Child and Monday's Child. Also it's the time of year when my organic garden in which I grow my own tempts me to go outdoors.
Showing posts with label Organic Garden. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Organic Garden. Show all posts
Friday, 27 May 2016
Monday, 4 April 2016
Touching Base
I'm have returned to social media after two months during which I have been very productive. I finished the third of my days of the week series, Tuesday's Child and have nearly finished editing and revising it with the online critique group that I am a member of. Two of my Flash Fiction stories won second prizes at the Watford Writers, the group I belong to, and I've written a short story for a weekly woman's magazine. I also double checked the spelling and grammar in my mediaeval novel set in the reign of Edward II. Phew! And now it's nearly time to write a competition entry, a short story and begin a new novel, as well as getting on in my garden in which I grow, fruit, herbs, ornamentals and vegetables.
All the best,
Rosemary Morris
Multi Published Historical Novelist
Monday, 31 August 2015
Apples and Plums
After torrential rain today I ventured out to pick ripe apples and plums from the trees in the garden. The fruit is delicious. The apples crisp and sweet, the plums sweet and juicy. And, for a change, this year there aren't many wasps buzzing around the plums.
Monday, 10 August 2015
Historical Novelist's Day
Today has started well. I woke at 6 a.m., and drank a glass of water, for which my kidneys will thank me, before going outside and turning on the sprinkler to water the fruit trees. I then put all my white clothes in the washing machine and turned it on. Next I wrote 600 words of Tuesday's Child my new traditional Regency Romance, by then the washing was ready to come out of the machine, so I took it out. I nipped out into the garden and moved the sprinkler so that my curly kale, black kale, chard, brussel sprouts, lettuce etc., would be get plenty of water. Back indoors put the coloureds in the washing machine and turned it on, gave my kidneys a treat with another glass of water and then returned to my laptop.
I'm looking forward to the rest of the day. When I finish dealing with 'writerly' matters I shall work in the garden and make a salad with home grown ingredients, one of which will be Russian salad made with potato, carrot and French beans from the garden. In the afternoon I'll read and then write etc.
This evening I will attend the writing group that I belong to.
I propose and hope God will not dispose of my plans.
I'm looking forward to the rest of the day. When I finish dealing with 'writerly' matters I shall work in the garden and make a salad with home grown ingredients, one of which will be Russian salad made with potato, carrot and French beans from the garden. In the afternoon I'll read and then write etc.
This evening I will attend the writing group that I belong to.
I propose and hope God will not dispose of my plans.
Wednesday, 3 June 2015
Yesterday and Today
I've no idea why but yesterday I was so tired that I literally couldn't keep my eyes open. I returned to bed and slept for hours. Then it was a rush to get ready to attend my 14 year-old grandson's birthday in a Mexican restaurant. Eighteen members of my family got together to enjoy each others' company and a delicious meal. Afterward we went to an Italian Ice-Cream parlour which also serves cookie dough, cakes, cheesecakes and other desserts. The children like the banana splits and other treats
After a good night's sleep I continued to line edit the printed copy of my mediaeval novel. I really have almost finished tweaking it and, with the second volume of the chronicles in mind, am re-reading Kathryn Warner's Edward II.
My writing stint completed I worked in the garden. It's time to plant out as much as possible from the green house. I tipped a bag of horse manure and a large bucket of home made compost onto a 4foot square raised bed and then planted leeks in it.
Now I'm fed up because I wasted a lot of time trying to find out how to cancel a job listed on the printer. I've given up for now and am blogging etc., before I watch Spring Watch on television.
After a good night's sleep I continued to line edit the printed copy of my mediaeval novel. I really have almost finished tweaking it and, with the second volume of the chronicles in mind, am re-reading Kathryn Warner's Edward II.
My writing stint completed I worked in the garden. It's time to plant out as much as possible from the green house. I tipped a bag of horse manure and a large bucket of home made compost onto a 4foot square raised bed and then planted leeks in it.
Now I'm fed up because I wasted a lot of time trying to find out how to cancel a job listed on the printer. I've given up for now and am blogging etc., before I watch Spring Watch on television.
Thursday, 23 April 2015
Too Many Strawberries
On a sunny day the fragrance of ripe strawberries growing in the garden tantalises the taste buds. The pleasure of biting into a sweet, sun-warmed strawberry is far superior biting into one from the supermarket. With this in mind, I ordered 36 strawberry plants, 6 each of 6 varieties, which should provide fruit from April to September.
I'm an optimistic organic gardener, who always imagines bumper rewards from my small fruit and vegetable plots, some of which are in the front garden, some and in the back garden as well as those in pots. However, after I placed my order I panicked. Where would I find the space to plant them?
I decided to pot up the twelve plants which fruit earliest in the year and put them in the greenhouse where I will pollinate them with a paint brush. The remainder should thrive in plant troughs.
If I plant all of them in John Innes Number 3 compost I should have plenty of fruit for the next three years which will repay me for my investment. Hopefully, not only will I have fresh strawberries to eat, I will also have enough to make jam and, maybe, cordial.
I'm an optimistic organic gardener, who always imagines bumper rewards from my small fruit and vegetable plots, some of which are in the front garden, some and in the back garden as well as those in pots. However, after I placed my order I panicked. Where would I find the space to plant them?
I decided to pot up the twelve plants which fruit earliest in the year and put them in the greenhouse where I will pollinate them with a paint brush. The remainder should thrive in plant troughs.
If I plant all of them in John Innes Number 3 compost I should have plenty of fruit for the next three years which will repay me for my investment. Hopefully, not only will I have fresh strawberries to eat, I will also have enough to make jam and, maybe, cordial.
Wednesday, 22 April 2015
Organic Garden
I woke at 6 a.m. and worked on my novel and other 'writerly' matters until 10.a.m when I went into my organic garden.
I thinned a row of turnips and used the greens to steam and then stir fried them with thin slices of sweet potato cut in half, tofu and rice, and added a vegetable stock pot cube, lemon juice and black pepper for flavour.
Turnip greens are very nutritious so I felt virtuous while I ate lunch.
During the morning I sorted out more plant pots and arranged them on a shelf in the shed.
To straighten it, I tied the stem of my patio cherry tree, which I had planted in the garden, to a pole. It is in full flower. This year I shall find a way of protecting the cherries so that the birds don't eat them the second they ripen.
I then harvested some baby carrots and stored them in the fridge. Afterward I potted up French Beans and covered them with polythene. French Bean seeds can be temperamental so I put two in each pot in the hope that they will sprout. Finally I sowed cucumbers in pots and stood them in a heated propagator.
Tomorrow I'll sow peas, which are soaking in water to encourage them to sprout.
All in all, a happy, productive morning.
I thinned a row of turnips and used the greens to steam and then stir fried them with thin slices of sweet potato cut in half, tofu and rice, and added a vegetable stock pot cube, lemon juice and black pepper for flavour.
Turnip greens are very nutritious so I felt virtuous while I ate lunch.
During the morning I sorted out more plant pots and arranged them on a shelf in the shed.
To straighten it, I tied the stem of my patio cherry tree, which I had planted in the garden, to a pole. It is in full flower. This year I shall find a way of protecting the cherries so that the birds don't eat them the second they ripen.
I then harvested some baby carrots and stored them in the fridge. Afterward I potted up French Beans and covered them with polythene. French Bean seeds can be temperamental so I put two in each pot in the hope that they will sprout. Finally I sowed cucumbers in pots and stood them in a heated propagator.
Tomorrow I'll sow peas, which are soaking in water to encourage them to sprout.
All in all, a happy, productive morning.
Tuesday, 21 October 2014
Monday, 6 October 2014
Friday, 12 September 2014
Friendly Robin
Every time I go out into my organic garden a little robin appears. He has become so friendly that he perches only two feet away from me and watches every move I make. If I leave a watering can, the garden frame on which I kneel or even an pile of earth, when I return he is perched on one of them.
This morning, I left the greenhouse door open while I had a cup of rooibos tea. When I returned he was in the greenhouse. However, when he saw me coming in he panicked and stayed in mid air fluttering his wings to maintain his position.
I stepped out. He flew away but returned a few minutes later to see what I was doing.
This morning, I left the greenhouse door open while I had a cup of rooibos tea. When I returned he was in the greenhouse. However, when he saw me coming in he panicked and stayed in mid air fluttering his wings to maintain his position.
I stepped out. He flew away but returned a few minutes later to see what I was doing.
Sunday, 5 June 2011
A Novelist aka Organic Gardner's Saturday Morning
As usual, when I woke at 6.am, I went downstairs to make a mug of green tea sweetened with organic honey, and flavoured with a wedge of unwaxed, organic lemon. While the kettle boiled I turned on the tap to water part of the vegetable plot. I then wasted a lot of time trying to adjust the spray.
By 6.20 I was checking my e-mails and replying to some of them. Recently, junk mail has been appearing. How do I get rid of it? I changed my password for one e-mail address but it hasn’t helped. What satisfaction do people derive from wasting other people’s time?
An hour later, I applied on line critiques to my mediaeval novel set in the reign of Edward II. The novel is part of a planned trilogy. I finished the first draft several years ago and sent it to the Romantic Novelist’s Association New Members’ New Writers’ Scheme for a reader’s report. The report was incredibly useful. I applied all the suggestions and put my novel, Dear Heart, aside while I wrote my new release Tangled Love (formerly published as Tangled Hearts) set in Queen Anne’s reign.
My critique partners thought the chapter I submitted for their opinion lacked emotion. In retrospect, I agree and now know how to add depth to the chapter. The good news is that they can identify with the characters’ dilemmas and enjoy my descriptions of places. In the chapter the hero has returned from the Battle of Bannockburn.
“After all that Nicholas had endured on the battlefield, he could scarcely believe in the reality of this oasis with its luxurious furnishings, a cradle for the babe yet to be born, a loom, a spinning wheel and a prie-dieu. Glad to see everyday things, he gazed at the items on top of a coffer – the box Harold gave Yvonne for a wedding gift, her ivory-framed looking glass, a pair of gold embroidered gloves, a baby’s gold and coral rattle next to a tiny, half-stitched coif.”
I applied some suggestions, corrected grammatical errors and inserted notes about revision in the text.
In between applying critiques I turned off the hose and make breakfast – freshly squeezed organic orange juice and porridge. While I ate breakfast I watched the news and decided what I would do in my organic garden.
After breakfast I critiqued a chapter of an intriguing historical novel set in the Bronze Age. It will be the first novel I’ve ever read set in this period. By then it was 10 a.m. time to set aside my writing activities until the late afternoon and early evening.
I had a quick shower and went into the garden. The redcurrants hang on the bush like glistening jewels. I picked half of them with the intention of making a raspberry and redcurrant pie. Today I will pick more to make redcurrant jelly and – if there are enough – redcurrant cordial. The jelly is delicious in cream cheese sandwiches, added to a serving of my homemade yoghurt or in creamy rice pudding. The cordial is refreshing and the pie will be delicious.
Next, I planted out beetroot which I grew from seed in the greenhouse and sowed turnip seeds and white radish seeds. The leaves and long white radishes make a delicious curry. I then did some weeding. By then it was very hot so I had a drink made with homemade yoghurt and cold water and a pinch of salt. It is a very refreshing drink on a hot day. I sipped it while leafing through a vegetarian cookbook and deciding what needs to be done in the garden on the next day, a Sunday.
On Sundays I feed my tomato plants which I grow in pots and hanging baskets. Last year Idli tomato plants provided masses of succulent sweet, yellow cherry tomatoes, which my grandchildren ate like sweets. I decided that other urgent tasks would be picking the last of my broad beans, potting up bush basil and leeks that are growing in the greenhouse and sowing some more French beans. And, of course, there is the never ending task of weeding and pruning.
By 6.20 I was checking my e-mails and replying to some of them. Recently, junk mail has been appearing. How do I get rid of it? I changed my password for one e-mail address but it hasn’t helped. What satisfaction do people derive from wasting other people’s time?
An hour later, I applied on line critiques to my mediaeval novel set in the reign of Edward II. The novel is part of a planned trilogy. I finished the first draft several years ago and sent it to the Romantic Novelist’s Association New Members’ New Writers’ Scheme for a reader’s report. The report was incredibly useful. I applied all the suggestions and put my novel, Dear Heart, aside while I wrote my new release Tangled Love (formerly published as Tangled Hearts) set in Queen Anne’s reign.
My critique partners thought the chapter I submitted for their opinion lacked emotion. In retrospect, I agree and now know how to add depth to the chapter. The good news is that they can identify with the characters’ dilemmas and enjoy my descriptions of places. In the chapter the hero has returned from the Battle of Bannockburn.
“After all that Nicholas had endured on the battlefield, he could scarcely believe in the reality of this oasis with its luxurious furnishings, a cradle for the babe yet to be born, a loom, a spinning wheel and a prie-dieu. Glad to see everyday things, he gazed at the items on top of a coffer – the box Harold gave Yvonne for a wedding gift, her ivory-framed looking glass, a pair of gold embroidered gloves, a baby’s gold and coral rattle next to a tiny, half-stitched coif.”
I applied some suggestions, corrected grammatical errors and inserted notes about revision in the text.
In between applying critiques I turned off the hose and make breakfast – freshly squeezed organic orange juice and porridge. While I ate breakfast I watched the news and decided what I would do in my organic garden.
After breakfast I critiqued a chapter of an intriguing historical novel set in the Bronze Age. It will be the first novel I’ve ever read set in this period. By then it was 10 a.m. time to set aside my writing activities until the late afternoon and early evening.
I had a quick shower and went into the garden. The redcurrants hang on the bush like glistening jewels. I picked half of them with the intention of making a raspberry and redcurrant pie. Today I will pick more to make redcurrant jelly and – if there are enough – redcurrant cordial. The jelly is delicious in cream cheese sandwiches, added to a serving of my homemade yoghurt or in creamy rice pudding. The cordial is refreshing and the pie will be delicious.
Next, I planted out beetroot which I grew from seed in the greenhouse and sowed turnip seeds and white radish seeds. The leaves and long white radishes make a delicious curry. I then did some weeding. By then it was very hot so I had a drink made with homemade yoghurt and cold water and a pinch of salt. It is a very refreshing drink on a hot day. I sipped it while leafing through a vegetarian cookbook and deciding what needs to be done in the garden on the next day, a Sunday.
On Sundays I feed my tomato plants which I grow in pots and hanging baskets. Last year Idli tomato plants provided masses of succulent sweet, yellow cherry tomatoes, which my grandchildren ate like sweets. I decided that other urgent tasks would be picking the last of my broad beans, potting up bush basil and leeks that are growing in the greenhouse and sowing some more French beans. And, of course, there is the never ending task of weeding and pruning.
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