Parenting with Plants! ...

Runner Beans, Courgettes, Tomatoes, Mange Tout and the piece de resistance Sweetcorn! Our little vegetable plot is producing vegetables at a great rate of knots! Due to our less than expert status we let some of the courgettes stay on the plant an extra day, which resulted in them becoming the size of prize marrows overnight!

But! The grand plan seems to be working. Now my young helper is keen to see what to do with our vegetables. He is intrigued by how they are prepared, surprised at how many different ways there are to cook them and, most importantly of all, determined to find out what they taste like!

I don't know how long this will last, but if we can grow enough, different types of veg, then maybe He'll get a taste for it and develop a healthy diet from an early age.

We're experimenting with salad plants now and I wonder if eating the produce raw will be better or worse (from and eight year olds perspective ...).

I love it when a plan comes together ...

Regards,

Nigel.

I know! Let's grow vegetables! ...

I'm fortunate to live in a lovely house in the middle of a village in rural Northamptonshire. I'm a bit of an anomoly in the village as I travel a lot with my work (I'm a Director in a large US based IT company) and I also work from home on a frequent basis, when I'm not travelling. As such, I don't fit into either the 'commuter', or the 'works locally' types that predominate in our village (and most others, come to that!).

My unpredictable schedule also means that its hard to get into a regular pattern for things, so I tend to do things on a more ad-hoc basis. So when I declared to my wife that I wanted to start a vegetable patch (something that really demands a sustained effort and attention over a protracted period), she immediatley pictured an overgrown, unsightly area in the garden with lots of weeds, lots of slugs and snails, and some dried up, untended, miserable looking, nearly dead vegetables.

As luck would have it, we were about to have a new patio laid, just next to the Utility Room, and there was talk of including a flower bed ... A tweak of the design, a word with the Landscaper and 'Hey Presto!' a vegetable patch is born. Job done!

This was a stroke of Genius (although I say it myself), we now have a 'manageable' sized area, capable of growing a variety of things, and located close by the house, surrounded by paving so it's quick and simple to look after. Brilliant! Now I just need to work out how I can look after the plants when I'm away ...

Another flash of inspiration and I have this problem licked, together with another, even trickier one.

Those of you with young children will understand the irrational fear that most children have of eating vegetables. This is a mystery for me (and most parents) because vegetables are brightly coloured (which children like), have a variety of flavours (which children like), they can eat as much of them as they want (which children like) and they are very good for you (which may be the problem!).

I am also very fortunate because my youngest Son (aged 8) loves to do things with his Dad (me!) and what could be a more rewarding experience than nurturing seeds and plants, watching them grow, feeding them, weeding them, picking the beans and peas, pulling the carrots and the cabbages, cutting the cucumbers, courgettes and sweetcorn ... and then eating them together with the Sunday Roast!

So now I have a willing helper, who demands to look after the vegetable patch when I'm away, who helps with the watering and weeding when I'm home (surely its not because he gets to play in the soil!) and is really looking forward to being able to harvest the crop and eat the 'fruits' of our labour (Perhaps I should give up the day job and write books on 'Parenting with Plants'! - or perhaps not!).

We are now days away from our first harvest (I was travelling when we should have planted the first seeds, so these went in a little late!) and we will see if the plan has worked and we witness the cheering spectacle of a small boy demanding more vegetables!

I'll be sure to let you know ...

Best regards,

Nigel.

BLOG number two! Another tough day at the office! Actually, I was working from home, but that just means I don't get to move from my screen & telephone at all.

Home working is great. The theory is that you can get your work/life balance oriented to your needs, because you can fit the little personal chores (take the kids to school, get a hair cut, pop into the village shop ...) in those moments of low productivity. The reality is that you 'just pop into the study ...' when you go to put the kettle on in the morning, and the next thing you know, your wife is handing you the cup of tea you were supposed to make for her an hour and a half ago! (As you can tell, I have a very understanding wife who can see that dealing with the overnight email is far more important (and urgent) than simply getting a cup of tea ... or walking the dog, or getting dressed!). Another 'moment' passes and your kids are coming to kiss you 'goodnight'!

Don't get me wrong, I'm a great believer in home working. It's just that there are days when its too easy to shut the door and work non-stop for 16 hours! The downside with home working, is that there is no-one there to see you in the office from dawn 'til dusk!

If you have the opportunity to work from home, take it, but temper your joy of working in your pyjamas, by taking the time to visit your office at least once a week, even if its just to hang out by the coffee machine and catch up on the gossip. Its amazing how much better you feel, and how much better you stay connected to the business.

I've got to get onto the evening conference calls now... I'll try to get onto some leisure activities next time.

Best regards,

Nigel.

First Blog ...

Here is my first attempt at a public BLOG! Actually, I should say its my second, as I did have a trial BLOG just after the Footbal World Cup, but that has now disappeared.

This BLOG will cover my personal observations and comments on a variety of topics from the IT Industry, Parenthood, my various novice engineering projects, and much much more. I will update the text regularly and hopefully provide some interesting food for thought in an easily digested and amusing style!

So here we are, at the beginning of what I hope will be a long and fruitful journey for both me and you.

Please come back and read this BLOG again, and let me know how close (or not) I have got to satisfying these intentions and keeping your attention!

Best regards,

Nigel.