Making it with You [MiY]

~ another site would be one to many I'm afraid~

hi Stick,i think its a great idea and to have seperate sites, that way members can go straight to the site they want, plus it gives us all more to see here on GoY.. it can only make it more interesting for everyone .:o))

thanks both of you ~ just useful to know how people feel. perhaps it is more of a seasonal thing? more crafts and cooking in the winter and more gardening in the summer??

Sticki....would it need to be a separate site? Would it not be possible to add another section where we indicate when writing a blog whether it is about "garden/horticulture", "pets/wildlife", "other"......and then have "hobbies/crafts/cooking?

I'd participate in blogs with cooking/recipes but I'd like it to be all a part of GoY if possible. I don't know the technicalities of setting it all in place but I vote "yes"....hope that makes sense! :)

yes it makes sense to me ~ im not sure what is best ~ thats really why i put this blog on ~ to see what people thought ~ how much interest there was and i think it would be helpful to the technical wizards who will kindly make it for us????

I agree with Arlene, if it was another site I would never get around to visiting it and would no doubt miss out on some interesting things. Another category sounds much better for me but maybe that's stretching the spectrum of a gardening site a bit?

oops i did not mean for a seperate site..i meant a seperate section or page within GoY..senior moment again :O)

You mean a GoYpedia page Joanella?

I`m with you StickyT, a hobby/cookery section please would be great especially through the winter months.

i think it would be nice ~ thanks stroller.

I think a GOYpedia page is a good idea Aa,..they could go be grouped together under C ?eg..Crafts/hobbies. Cooking?
Just a thought..would that work?

i dont know about the technicality ~ perhaps it depends on the volume of users and amount of blogs?

I have enjoyed the seasonal recipies that pop up every now and again- I'm not sure if I would have tried any if they were on a seperate site - I do like the idea of keeping them on here under another section. Shirleys plum dish is a fine example that had us all cooking and sharing (and putting on wieght lol ).

Surely arts and crafts belong on a specific site not gardening?

thanks ST for bringing this subject up . I think that it would be best left as one site as gardening is a creative art form, as is painting and crafts and the idea of different sections could be easily combined, A seperate site could be too disjointed and confusing and could fragment a large group of members appreciative of all forms of creative art

A section where we could share our recipes - particularly using our garden produce - would be great! As has already been stated above - if it was a separate site it probably wouldn't be visited as, if I'm looking for a specific recipe I Google for it, but seeing seasonal recipes on GoY would be very useful as any queries or problems with a recipe could be quickly sorted out with the author. Maybe recipes could be set up in seasonal files ... ie. fruit recipes in Autumn; salad recipes in Summer, etc.?

I wouldn't look at yet another site. This one is time consuming enough, and I also belong to 2 others.

And there's enough separating into boxes on here already.
Life isn't separated into boxes. ! Everything overlaps :o)) It's natural.

I think having extra sites on goy because I joined Ispy but hardly ever go there-- maybe -- but this may be way too technical-- a button at the top just for food and another for arts & crafts so unless you are interested you needn't use it

For those interested in cookery, David edits a number of GoYpedia categories which are related to cooking, using produce from the garden ...

Click on the appropriate letter of the alphabet at the base of the page to reach categories such as ...

B for Blueberries
R for Recipes from the Garden.
V for Vegetables for Salads
V for Vegetables for Stir Fries.

I hope this helps :o)

As a man I enjoy looking at what you ladies cook and craft
but would not visit another site,i am sure that i am missing out on some good Bird pictures.Its good to have a mix especially this time of year in the UK when gardening is at a low level.

thats a good thought Bjs ~ so long as its not confusing?!?

Lots of mixed feelings on this matter, as TT said we have R for recipes, V for vegetables, why not C for craft, it could be quite simple, There are including myself a lot of us on here that do craft in the winter months and enjoy sharing what we do with our GOY friends, gardening for us in this country is a no go at the moment due to the weather so by putting our craft things on keeps all of us in touch during the winter, we still get lots of gardening pictures from our friends aboard, as I said we really don't need another site, just use this one and put them under the C, .

very sensible yorkshire :o)

I agree with Yorkshire too. ;o)
Definitely seperate from the gardening section, C for craft.

I came back to add to my comment after thinking about it some more....
We have to keep in mind that the reason we joined GOY is because we love plants, I am stressing that we must keep the craft section seperate.

"What is the GoYpedia?

The GoYpedia is a collection of gardening topics you might expect to find in an encyclopaedia"

So, the Goypedia alphabet is for "garden theme" topics, it seems ...

... which means the Craft section might need to be slotted in elsewhere in GoY ...

Not sure what is best, but i think abit like yorkshire as at this time of year there is no gardening to do really, so this keeps us in contact with each other over the winter, i can't see many putting recipes on in summer as to interested with gardening.

i wud not b able to viset another site much as wud like to ... i think a sep. bit on goys wud be nice .. wud be better just go and peek wen you on goys .

Many Thanks, Sticki, for this idea. Many Thanks, also, Tt, for the pointer to Goypedia, and the fact that there is,indeed, a recipes page, for the lovely, mouth-watering dishes which appear on GOY (have to say, have tried them all, lol!).

"Make Your Own" has come into my mind, as fits with "Grow Your Own", another Goypedia page. C for "Crafts", however, seems to be popular. Now, Hands up,please, from volunteers to edit this page-in-the-making??? LOL!!!

you know when we write blogs we choose pet/garden etc why not 2 more categories arts & crafts and food

I would volunteer David, but I don't know how, is it difficult, good idea of yours also Pamg.

My thinking too, Pam. You've explained it better than I could.

thanks both-- I was thinking about it and this seemed the easiest way-- if people are not interested in a specific category the'd know not to choose it

It is easy, Yorkshire. use the contact us link below the alphabet further down this page to e-mail P and A, asking if you could be editor for a "crafts" page on Goypedia. If they are in agreement with this, they will set up "tools" for you to be able to add items to the page. If anyone nominates something for it, you will see these, too, and be able to add them in. :-))

David that sounds o.k. I will wait until I have spoken to Sticki later, if she agrees then I will get in touch with A and P, unless anyone says they don't want me to be editor for crafts, otherwise I will be happy to give it a go, thank you, hope you will be on hand with any help if it comes off,

Will do, Yorkshire, and Good Luck! I already have more than 120 pages, and can't take on any more, lol!

Sorry but I cannot be the only one who dreads all the arts and crafts that will clog up the blogs and pics pages as they have to appear on them first before they can be nominated and then if chosen added to a Goypeadia page. A gardening site is what I joined not a general free for all on topics put on by people joining just to show off their (often dubious) talents. As you can see I feel very strongly about this but cannot (I have just discovered) flag myself.

I wouldn't flag you Denise as you're entitled to your opinion and in some ways I agree with you. For me the only way within GoY is another blog category but I think even that may be a category too far on a gardening site.

Hi Lily thanks for that.

I do understand Drc and respect you for it,

the way I feel is that growing food -- then cooking it one of the pleasures of gardening ( ok it may stray into chocolate but......:o)
and similarly to arts & crafts I started painting halfway through my National certificate of Horticulture course wnhen we had to keep files ( these ran to two thick lever arch files) and the botany part of the course where we had to draw perfectly( if we could) what we saw by eye and through the microscope. I became fascinated by botanical painting and as with all things it progressed ( wouldn't say i'm vey good but I do enjoy it so)
we share so much on Goy this also seems a natural progression especially with the garden frozen solid!!
Its obviously only my view Drc but I hope you can understand ' where its coming from'

Yes I respect your opinion Pam. I think Nursing is also like gardening as its both about biology, physiology and caring for a living thing. During my first Hons degree I drew cell structure and human organs but I think it would be going too far to link it to gardening and put it on GOY! Its all about where we draw the line surely? This is mostly a gardening site, lets by all means have the odd recipe from things grown in the garden. But lets have designated Cookery sites and Botanical painting sites because one man's hobby can be another man's turn off?

thats why I suggested specific categories as we have at the moment with pets etc. then the choice is our own rather than sprinkled about as at the moment but if you prefer Goy as it is then -- for me-- so be it

I just prefer the gardening Pam!

I do understand-- can you see your garden at the moment mine has been shrouded in fog but a bit of sun now and on the apple tree some of those still on look like those artificial ones that are on sale as decorations -- competly covered in sparkling white frost

Hi Pam its bright sunshine here and no snow yet, but its very cold and the snow is forecast for tomorrow.

I've friends in Hove and they said it forecast to come up the channel, here in the midlands its forecasting heavy snow too-- we're on a hill about a mile from the village -- but i stocked up well on saturday-- lets really hope that the weathermen have got it wrong!!

We are up a hill 1/2 mile from the village which is in a very steep sided valley so non of us gets out when it snows. We have several village shops who cope very well and sensibly do not let all the 'non village shop users' suddenly descend and clear them out, even though they try every time it snows! I stock up well before on staples and candles and just pray for no really long power cuts.

battening down the hatches then! lets hope they're wrong, good luck Pam xx

fingers crossed!

don't like the look of the forecast.......

you know there is a serious case for hibernation......

Just so.

is there a techinical way to solve this problem? it seems a lot of people want to see everything in one site but there are a considerable number who dont want to have to wade through blogs they are not interested in ~ is it possible to have some sort of tagging system or colour coded blog titles ~ would that help anything? i think we need the web designers help??

Surely the system is already there Sticki, with the blog category options that we already have. Just one more category needed for cookery/crafts. We already have the option not to be shown any of the present categories we're not interested in. This is one solution, or a separate site.

I would love to see a section added for crafts, cooking, hobbies, sticki. I would certainly participate and it would help me to get ideas and advice for the animal crafting sessions I do at work.

animal crafting GD? what type of things does that involve? dont know so much about animals but ive done a fair amount of creative work with children if thats what you had in mind??

I agree with Lily and Drc I joined GoY primarily for gardening. If a craft or cookery blog appears now and again ok I may look at it but that is not why I joined.

I also joined because it's a gardening site, but the natural progression for some of the things we enjoy growing is to cook and eat them - therefore a site for recipes is a natural onward move.

I agree Nariz as you said 'a site for them' and this site primarily for gardening

Sorry Drc, I actually meant 'a place for them' rather than 'a site for them.' Didn't explain myself properly. :o( I feel an 'offshoot' on this site for recipes containing the things we grow would be a very useful item. For example - in the past people have asked questions like "how can I use the tomatoes that won't ripen now?" or "how can I preserve peppers?" and I've chipped in with my Green Tomato Chutney recipe and been thankful to read how others preserve Jalapeno peppers. It's been a Godsend for me to learn how to deal with a glut of certain veggies that I'm new to growing and I know that, if I had any problem or query with any recipe here, I would be able to contact the author of a particular tip or recipe for clarification. Just try to contact 'Jamie', 'Delia' or any other celebrity chef/cook for an explanation of something in their books and by the time you'd get an answer - if at all - the time would be past for using your ingredient. This is why I say a place for recipes is a natural progression of what we on this site enjoy doing, and if it was an 'offshoot' then people who don't want anything to do with recipes can simply read and interact with the part of the site they choose without feeling bogged down with stuff they don't like. Bring it on, I say!

There has been a "recipes from the garden" page in Goypedia for over a YEAR!!!

I've only just found it! I think I've been blinkered by all the gardening! Duuuur!!

Hi Nariz :-))) The page is, of course, primarily aimed at recipes using home-grown produce, so very much (to my mind) garden/horticulture related. great to see how people use the produce from their allotments, too. I think also, that home-baking fits in, as this has been a stalwart section in local flower shows for......well, decades!!! In the not too distant past, growing-you-own, in the garden or on an allotment, keeping poultry for eggs and pies, and producing meals from it all, were necessitous, rather than today's "fashion". Herbaceous borders were a luxury, then.

Okay, so I love history, especially when heard from parents and late grandparents, but I enjoy learning how gardening today has evolved, for us "ordinary" people and what, exactly, is an "exotic" ingredient/plant anymore? Have seen a great many of them pictured in Goyers' gardens!!

:-D)

The 'recipes from the garden' on Goypeadia page is very much part of gardening Nariz indeed I have tried the 'Parkin' on the family which was a real hit.

I can be such a "lateral thinker" at times, sorry!

Coming in later on this debate about cookery, as a truly lousy at baking/cooking.......I feel it has its place on GoY. I have blackberries and jostaberries in the freezer waiting to jammed and/or made into a jus or sauce. When this blog was going......'global cooling' had not yet kicked in, and made it nearly impossible to do anything much in the garden. So other matters are of interest. As David points out. Food is a feature at garden shows. Featuring home cooking/baking. Another site would not interest me in the least. A for instance...... recipes using lavender are now fashionable......anyone demo lavender and baking?

lavender biscuits or with lamb instead of rosemary is nice I understand

Pamg: yes you can use lavender in place of rosemary but don't use as much lavender as you normally would rosemary.
One of the big supermarkets sells Lavender chocolate from Belgium: it is very moorish and tastes just like lavender smells.
You could experiment with different species of lavender to see if the taste is different. I have tried the following with limited success: not sure about the taste but I scoffed the lot as I like ginger and chocolate!

Wash, peel, dry, and slice some root ginger.
Boil it in a pan with some sugar and freshly picked lavender (flowers and leaves) for around 15 mins or until firm but soft.
Meanwhile, be melting some plain chocolate in a pan or large jug.

Get a baking tray ready dusted with icing sugar.

When the ginger is done, strain it (I save the juice to drink when cooled: it clears your nose and wakes you up!), and pour the sliced ginger into the melted chocolate, stirring to coat it.

(The messy bit) place each piece onto the baking tray to cool and set, then scoff the lot with a cold beer or nice cup of earl grey!

mmmmmmm sounds delicious

It is but I put too much lavender in!

oh well perhaps it would be ok if you held your nose??? you cant taste as well if you cant smell it???