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Saturday, September 2, 2017

Many years ago...

Many years ago, I read a story which was in one of my childhood books and which left a lasting impression.
My mother had bought me these Bumper story books...I think they were from the U.K. and these books contained short stories, comic stories, non fiction informative articles and I remember the paper of the pages seemed a bit like blotting paper! I read and reread these books...no TV in my childhood home!
I had a bit of a look on the internet and sure enough there were images of Bumper books similar to mine!

The story that I mentioned went like this...a young lady (dressed in what looked like early 1800s gear), was walking back from the markets in another village carrying a basket of eggs that she had just purchased. As she walked home, she imagined the chickens hatching from these eggs. She then imagined herself taking these chickens to the market and selling them. In her imagination, she would make a big profit from selling these chickens. In a thought bubble the reader saw the girl dressed in the grand gown she would buy with this money! And so the girl walked home with all these exciting plans swirling around in her head.
And then, before the girl reached home, she tripped and fell, dropped the basket of eggs thus smashing them. Moral of the story? Don't count your chickens before they're hatched! 😲
Fast forward to the present day. Each day I tend my veggie patch and this year one particular tomato plant has been doing really well; it's an heirloom variety and I've grown it in potting mixture in a large pot.

In the last few weeks I've been imagining what these tomatoes will taste like when they ripen. Will they have the flavour of the tomatoes my dad grew? I've been imagining salads, home made passata etc with these tomatoes. 🍅 🍅 But am I 'counting my tomatoes before they ripen' ? to paraphrase that old proverb? Lol
That netting might deter the possums, but not the bush turkeys. However another enemy of gardeners in many parts of this country is the 'fruit fly'. That's why I usually only grow cherry tomatoes as the fruit fly mainly leave these varieties alone. A few years ago I grew the beefsteak variety of tomatoes. The first one I picked was perfect. Every other one, when cut, revealed grubs and a mushy mess inside. Oh dear...fingers crossed for these but being a winter crop, I should be lucky.

I might check out the bottling preserving process, one must stay positive! 😊
PS. While I was looking for images of old story books, I found an image of a favourite storybook Annual that I had once received for Christmas. I loved those Girls Crystal Annuals...also from the U.K.

Such memories! 

7 comments:

Dorothy said...

Loved your egg story Maria. Those tomatoes look good already - I hope they live up to your dreams. You've got me thinking now ..... I used to like Blinky Bill and another one I can't recall the name of but it was Coles something or other book. Hope you're enjoying your weekend.

Cynthia said...

Well, I do hope your tomatoes do not go the way of the eggs and you get baskets of juicy and tasty fruit!
I've never heard of those books before but as you describe them I know I would have loved them, too. I loved stories where the little girl had all kinds of adversities and remained cheerful and hopeful, such as Pollyanna, Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, Honeybunch, and the Five little Peppers. Did you read any of those in Australia?

Sharm said...

Good luck - fruit fly is a real problem!

Vireya said...

I often received those books for Christmas. They kept me entertained for at least some of the summer holidays. No TV in our family, either. Thanks for the memories!

Kim said...

I remember those books when I was a little girl. There was always so much to read; they kept me entertained for what seemed forever. Hope your tomatoes are okay. Down here frost often plays havoc with ours....even in Summer.

Carol- Beads and Birds said...

I have good wishes for your tomatoes to be marvelous!! I never read series books when I was little, but I WAS a voracious reader.
xx, Carol

Jackie said...

What a lovely way for a moral to be taught.

God bless.