Spring has sprung

It came as no surprise this week when our neighbours at our other flat asked if they could buy the stove off us we lent them after their catastrophe. It is in and working well - I don't think they had the problems we had with smoke on lighting as they haven't got quite the convoluted pipe work that we did - and to move it out and put another in must seem like a lot of hassle for nothing. We had hoped to use the stove in the polytunnel to extend the growing season but I think their need of heat is greater than our need for extending the growing season, having said that I did have a brain wave just before we got the request and thought about building a brick oven on site, it would be great for barbequeing as well. Hmm! Veg straight off the vine and onto the bbq. Nice!

Finally went to the dentists this week, something we have been putting off for ages. One very large filling fell out before Christmas and I had a tooth which disintegrated at the front but there was no pain fortunately, so there was no need to rush. We got to hear of a dentist in the nearby large town who actually speaks English and not German (not terribly helpful for us) and so we decided we really ought to go. The week before we had actually duped a friend into going as he was in a lot of pain but doesn't like dentists either so we said we would go together, the reality was that there was only one appointment and he had priority, but we didn't tell him that. I understand totally though, the thought of going to a dentist who messes about or is unpleasant is not my idea of fun, I want someone I can trust to do a good job without trying to do a whole lot of unnecessary work. That was one of the reasons for me not going to the dentist in America, as I didn't think they would like my teeth, not being of the pearly white perfect sort, and would want to start doing major megabucks work and I really couldn't be bothered with the hassle. Well while we were at the dentists with our friend we sorted out our appointments for this week, since she seemed so nice and spoke good English, very reassuring. It is a good job really as I haven't been to a dentist since Denmark, four years ago and Ian hasn't been since he left England and so that was over 7 years ago. Ian was, however, pleasantly surprised that he hadn't got any new holes, just needed old fillings replaced.

English Mother's day came a bit late for me as I finally got  a lovely card from one of my children - one to treasure I think, it is actually rather sweet instead of cheeky like some of them I have had in the past (when I got one that is, love you really kids and to be honest I am not really bothered). Even more surprising was to get a gift too, a Pat and Mat DVD. If you remember a couple of weeks ago I commented that the Czech airlines played a hilarious cartoon that I had never seen before, it is even more hilarious because we live in a country with a similar Soviet history, so I could imagine some of the antics happening here too. We sat through five short episodes the other night and roared with laughter, only another 30 to go. One of the classic scenes was one of the guys (not sure which is Pat and which is Mat but heh!, does it matter?) whose tap kept moving around so that it poured water on the floor, so the guy drags his sink over to where the tap was - easy eh! Oh yes forgot about the pipe connections didn't he. Next moment a puddle is fast appearing on the floor, so what does he do? Pulls out his drill and drills a hole in the floor of course. Slight problem he lives in a flat (apartment) and so it goes on. Great fun!

Spring suddenly decided to make an appearance this week and over 20-30cm of snow disappeared within two days, great patches of winter weary grass started to appear as if by magic and then it started to rain. I love Spring when the bulbs start to push up their heads to greet the gentle warmth of the sun, but this part of Spring when the snow is melting and the ground is turning to mush and the days can be dismal is not something I enjoy. It almost feels like when you go for an operation, or to the dentist, you know it is something you have to go through and something good will come out of it but you would rather it was just over and done with. We went to have a look at the polytunnel and it is in the same state as last year when they couldn't work on it because it was too wet which is so annoying because we warned the guy there would be a problem if he delayed any further (we only had to look at the weather forecasts to see that), but we need that plastic up or we are not going to be able to get a good start for the new planting season so something has to be done.

On a slightly lighter note I thought I would list some of the things which herald the Spring here in Latvia:-
We rediscover which roads have tarmac and which ones are dirt roads
The pothole challenge - the roads are in a desperate state until the tarmac lorries get out and until then it takes nerves of steel and a quick response time to avoid them
Ice breakers - teams of folks out chipping away at the ice
Green grass where the heating pipe travels from the boiler at the top of the hill to our apartment
Reappearing features - bins (trash cans, outdoor seating)
The fly swatters out - I got four this morning but then again they were sluggish.

One thing I discovered which I wasn't so happy about in Latvia is to do with the interest rates. Interest rates on deposits seem to have gone down rather a lot just lately and I was wondering if by any chance my bank had reduced the interest rates on loans (which would be good for many folks here, something I could accept) and I was absolutely gobsmacked to find there was no information on the amount of interest paid, I can find out how much a loan will cost per month but not the interest charged. Interest rates in the UK have to be clearly stated, and rightly so, but I thought this may have been in line with EU law, if it is not then it is no wonder that people here in Latvia have been duped for so long - how can you take out a loan and not know how much it will actually cost you in real terms? I decided to do a little comparison of some of the banks and found that Nordea, DnB Nord and Swedbank do not advertise their interest rates on Latvian sites but they do on Swedish sites.  Now that it is downright criminal, why do these banks (and I don't think they are the only ones) not practice "best practice" and make sure the customer has all the information they need to make an informed choice? You would think that Scandinavian banks would practice the utmost transparency in all their dealings and maybe they do in Sweden but there doesn't seem to be much evidence of that in Latvia.

Politically things are a little jittery here as one party pulled out of the Latvian Government, meaning the coalition parties in Government are in the minority and the question is will it fall? Not likely I think! Who would want to take on governing this nation at this minute, who would take the poisoned chalice? No! Let the Government get so far and hopefully by October, when an election is due, everything will be looking better then and so another party could take over and take the credit. Oh yes! And if it doesn't go to plan then the previous Government could of course be blamed anyway.

I was doing some research for my studies and came across and astounding fact that 90% of all soybeans in the US contain the Monsanto gene, that is a huge monopoly of the market and makes me wonder how it has taken the US authorities so long to investigate this as they are now doing. It would seem that today crops are not about feeding the world but about the world domination of the markets by no more than four seed companies. There is also inappropriate development that only serves the seed companies, ie developing seeds that resist their own herbicides rather than developing what the farmers need. In fact more food is lost due to poor storage than through loss to pests and diseases and so tackling that is a low cost, low technological solution which would improve this world's ability to feed its citizens. Improving agricultural techniques such as crop rotation and more appropriate crops for a region will do far more than tying farmers to a seed company, which is what happens when GM crops are used. I don't often pass on details about online petitions but the Avaaz organisation appears to have a better way of organising them than passing on through emails, which to be frank is a waste of time, and if you disagree with GM crops being introduced into Europe then this is the link to register your disagreement, you do need a European address to sign it though.

Photos
Photo 1: Reappearing seats and bins (trash cans), you can compare this picture to last weeks where the bin was only barely visible
Photo 2: Reappearing manure heaps - lovely
Photo 3 & 4 Pat or is it Mar?
Photo 5: Little one enjoying walking on grass again, it was so funny to watch him walking up and down it and jumping the ditch at the bottom
Photo 6 & 7 More disappearing snow which you can compare to previous pictures.

Yikes its cold

Over four months after starting our epic journey to get a woodburning stove installed in our apartment we finally made it. It was a bit worrying as they drilled holes in ceilings when it was -18C (0F) outside and I was praying there wouldn't be gaps left or the pipes partially installed. Bless them they got the indoor pipe installed and quickly sealed to the outside air as they carried on working upwards. It was perfect timing as this week has been oh so cold with temperatures down to -29C on one night shortly after the installation. I then spent the whole day cleaning the living room which was thick with dust from making the hole and guess who forgot to take the curtains down and the pictures off the wall!!! Serves me right I guess.

Whereas we were appreciating the extra heat from the woodburning stove our car sat outside was not. We took a trip into our nearest big town so that a neighbour could get to lessons and an exam and we needed some odds and ends anyway so was not a problem - well we didn't think it was a problem until the morning when Ian went downstairs to start the car 15 minutes before setting off. The car was definitely sulking and not impressed at being woken up on a morning when the car thermometer read -29C, I am sure it was thinking "You have to be joking don't you?" After a few attempts and a very rough sounding engine noise the car eventually began to warm through, just in time for our neighbour but also her husband who needed his van to be towed so he could go to work, his van was worse than sulking, it was point blank refusing to cooperate but with a lot of coaxing and a bit of uniced road (not much of that in our village) it eventually got going and we were on our way.

It has been one of those weeks when lots happens. One young man joined us this week and has been helping us out and he has certainly impressed us with his ability to work hard and get on with things, he is a joy to have around. He makes sorting out a little easier as well because his English is reasonable and he translates for us and this meant that Ian could go and get the tractor back from the little guy who can't speak English. The two of them then started clearing a path on the land with the tractor, problem was that the bucket for some reason stuck part way through the job, it seems to be low on oil for some reason. Something else to sort out, if it's not one thing it's another! We hope to be able to build a shelter and a woodshed and so need a path onto the land so that equipment can be carried on by car rather than transporting it through a field at least a foot deep in snow, carrying a saw table across a snowy field I believe is not easy!

 Our Swedish friend also carried on with getting the walls in the toilet sorted - he would get on a lot faster if it wasn't for the hours of interesting chat that Ian and he have been having, putting the world to right, well that and the fact that it has been so cold that the walls have been drying too slowly. One day a bucket of plaster was mixed and left to firm up while they had a chat and a cup of tea, and they chatted and chatted and chatted, so much so the plaster set and another bucket had to be made up. Hey ho! Good times!

I finally got one of my assignments back this week and I got a distinction so feeling pretty pleased with myself as that means I have passed the whole of my Human Ecology unit with a distinction, I'm over the moon to put it mildly. I have thoroughly enjoyed the topic which helps but it also helps to have moved countries and having to adapt to different cultures. It means I have had to learn to look at life from different angles and I appreciate the different perspectives I have come across, very helpful when looking at a subject that looks at the interactions between the society, economy and the environment in different cultures.

This week I have also started teaching English to a group, they are so keen they want two hours next week. Managed to convince them that two hours of a foreign language is too much (them and me) so it is two hours but with a break in between. They laughed a lot and all took part which is fantastic, in many ways much easier than teaching children who are often in a class because they have to be there, not because they want to be there. I know people say that it is easier to learn when you are young but it is not always the way, sometimes life helps you to learn better and also concentrates the mind on the subject and if you have chosen to learn the subject you have the desire to learn which helps enormously.

Been doing my usual pondering this week as I look around at the people in our community and realise that some are struggling for lack of work I wonder some more about where our money should go. We already try to think very carefully about making sure that, where possible, our money goes into the local economy, which is all well and good for things we actually need done or things we need to have, but when things are really tight for others should we dip deeper into our savings and give our money away to numerous worthy causes and individuals, does that help? Yes and no! In Petworth, England there is an enormous wall surrounding a big house, evidence of yet again the landed gentry separating themselves from the peasants you might think, and in one sense maybe it is but the story also goes that it was built in a time of need when the peasants were suffering and needed employment. Did the gentry need a wall? Maybe they did and maybe they didn't, it could conceivably keep animals in or out as the case maybe. Could the gentry have just given their money away - yes but would that have robbed the peasants of the dignity of earning the money? Was there dignity in being seen to be building a wall? Everyone knows around here in Latvia that if you are out cleaning streets you need money, but they do it so well and the place is so tidy and paths gritted, so is that employment dignifying or degrading? Is there value in creating employment for the sake of it in times of hardship for others? Is it fuelling the consumerist problems? Questions, questions! All goes to show there are no easy answers but one thing I am certain about is that we cannot do nothing.

Photos
Photo 1, 2 & 3 Winters morning
Photo 4 Me
Photo 5 Great tit
Photo 6 Nuthatch

Busy!

I don't do busy normally! I like to take my time, reflect and think, I am much more efficient when I don't do things on the run but this week is an exception as there was not much choice. So here is a run down of our week

Ian has bought a digger to go on the back of his tractor so we can dig out ditches - and judging by the wetness of the land and little ponds appearing everywhere due to the rain this week we are going to have to make use of that, and also for levelling the land for the polytunnels. The digger should have arrived Friday but it didn't, we had a phone call on Monday to say it would arrive Tuesday between 1-3 pm, right during our Latvian lesson, still didn't arrive. Just as the tea (evening meal) was cooked the phone went, our digger was arriving in 10 mins - arrghh! We went out to direct the truck to the land and wondered how he was going to get the digger out of it, Ian had explained very carefully that there is nothing apart from the tractor to be able get the digger off a truck (remember the tractor saga?). We pulled off the road onto the land and stopped so we could consult with the driver, consult is a very loose term for hand gestures equating to some form of primitive communication. We managed to convey that the digger needed to go up over the hill but we didn't think the truck would make it but the driver was willing to give it a go - we had a sinking feeling, in fact five minutes later so did the truck driver, he got stuck... well and truly stuck. We got out our tractor and linked up to the truck but there was no way our little tractor was going to pull that truck out, it fought a valiant battle but the truck was way too big and in the process our tractor was digging holes in the soft sandy dirt roads - not good! Well to cut a long story short I had to phone a friend with a big tractor to come and pull him out, which he did and then the truck driver decided to do a three point turn on a dirt road with ditches on either side - guess what? Yes you've guessed it he had to be pulled out again. Eventually we got the driver sorted out and he took the digger to our friends farm where it now sits because it doesn't fit our tractor. There is a part that is needed that we haven't got, so that is another saga in progress.

Our night did not finish with the truck though, while helping to free the hapless truck driver I got a call from a friend, but couldn't really deal with it at the time, so on our way home I decided to phone back and see what the call was about. Someone was stuck! Groan! They had been fishing after work and in between time it had rained and now their car was stuck could we come and pull it out? Off we traipsed once again, it was a close call but we did manage to free the guy, so at 10:30pm that night we actually sat down to eat after battling with rain and mud for most of the night.

The next day Ian was showing the poly tunnel construction guy the land and the problems we were now having with the mud, which is not going to be helpful in putting up the poly tunnels, when the four wheel drive selector gear jammed on our 18 month old truck. Ian wasn't sure if it was jammed with diff lock on or not and meant he was not really happy about driving it around in case he ruined it (for those who don't know driving with diff lock on ruins transmissions and means major work on the car, under warranty maybe but not what we could do with right now). We were kind of carless for a day or two while Ian sorted out whether it really did have the diff lock on and whether it was safe or not to drive the 2 hours into Riga to get it fixed and in consultation with our Swedish night in shining armour he decided it was safe.

So today we spent the time in Riga with me revising in the car on the way there and back as I have an exam in just over two weeks time - as I said this week has been on the run. We also managed to get a lovely looking wood stove, now that we have the relevant papers to allow us to install it our flat (that saga only a month in the making) and typical Latvian style we got to take it home that day, at least that is one thing we don't have to wait at home to be delivered. We also got a generator so we can run a cement mixer to put in some foundation blocks for the poly tunnel, now we just have to pray it stops raining enough to be able to prepare the ground.

Had a great find while in Riga, a dehydrator! I can sense the excitement from you all! I have been talking about one all week after someone on a blog I follow had bought one and was talking about all the things they had been dehydrating making storage of produce from the garden so much easier. One thing we learnt in Denmark, if you see something that you think maybe useful buy it, as you may never see it again so that is what we did. Now I don't advocate the whole materialism thing, or retail therapy rubbish this is sheer practicality. When you live in a country with only a few million population the range of goods is not as extensive as say in England or the US and so you may see something one week and never see it again. This does mean that you have to be really aware of what you could possibly use sometime in the future so anything that makes food storage easier is a definite must. Can't wait to get started on the tomatoes and the apples.

We started our Latvian lessons in earnest this week and our neighbour brought us round a lovely jar of cherry jam for our first lesson with her, the school teacher gave us Latvian chocolate for our first lesson and some Latvian bread later on in the week, so we are getting to know the tasty side of Latvian culture too. They are such sweet people and very patient, good job as Ian's head hurts. I have learnt different languages from time to time, not fluently but enough and taught our kids English when they were being home educated so I kind of know what to expect and can work things out pretty quickly. Poor Ian hated English at school, doesn't help that he grew up with a Geordie accent which is a very strong dialect and only ever had red crosses through his work as the teacher never explained the correct way to write things, so consequently trying to work out what the Latvian book is trying to teach him is not helpful. I am sure it will get easier with time though and this is just a rough time to be starting, the winter will be perfect when I haven't got as much work to study and Ian hasn't got so much work to do such as working on the land, pulling transport out of mud, and harvesting stuff from our garden.

Another sweet tale from this week is a lady we call the goat lady because she has goats (obvious really) but last year she managed to get us to understand that she would like the outside leaves of our cabbages to feed to her goats which we duly gave her, even bagged up some more later on in the month for her. This year she came down to me chattering away, while I was in the garden, saying something about apples and pointing at her trees. I didn't quite understand so she took me by the hand to the trees and pointed to all the wind falls on the ground, I pointed to my bucket that I happened to have in my hand and she says "Ja, Ja" (yes, yes) and she also explained (well indicated) there were more around the back, so I filled my bucket. This has been really helpful because I think we might have all of a dozen apples on our own tree this year, frost must have got the blossom in spring. Later on in the week I went back for more with two buckets this time and when she appeared out of the house she even helped me to pick some, making sure my buckets were really full.

Latvia has been in the news for all the wrong reasons again and the link gives the fairest assessment that I can see of the spat between Britain and Latvia over the parades by soldiers who were in the Latvian SS during the war. Latvian history is indeed a tangled web and none more so than during the war, judging who was the enemy and who was the ally can be difficult at the best of times and from across the channel and with hindsight the battle lines must look so easy and clear cut but not in the midst of the battle or with a country whose history is so convoluted. The choice that Latvians had, assuming of course they had a choice which many did not because of conscription, was do you join the Nazi side and fight the Russians who have dominated you for many years or join the Russian side to fight the Nazi ideology? Not much of a choice really and many intellectuals left but the men in the fields didn't often have that choice. Some joined the Nazi side and today feel proud that they had tried to stem the advances of Russia, this feeling was then fuelled by the following years under the communist regime; they also wished to acknowledge the sacrifice of their fellow countrymen in that endeavour. I am not excusing them, nor agreeing with them but I can see their point, 46 years under Soviet rule has coloured their appreciation of the past in a way that I don't think we who grew up on the other side of the iron curtain can fully appreciate and I feel that there should be more understanding that this young country is still trying to find its place in the world, that it is also still struggling with issues that are raw. Condemnation without understanding is not going to get anyone anywhere.

While the IMF were busy congratulating themselves and telling everyone what a super job they are doing there are people who do not quite agree and think they are still up to their old tricks by imposing the ideology of free markets on countries that is both painful and counter productive. The IMF think that the pain will be worth it, but it is the poor who suffer every time and the biggest question is "Why should the poor suffer because of debts incurred by the wealthy bankers? Why should they be the ones paying?" The route taken only reduces security by destabilising a country. The Latvian Government is wobbling but possibly won't fail - which party truly wants to take on running Latvia at the moment? Another of my least favourite people is the finance minister of Sweden, he is obviously very worried because if the Latvian economy fails the Swedish run banks are in serious trouble, so he thinks he should keep reminding the Latvian Government to stick to their promises no matter what the pain. If the Swedish poor were put through as much pain as the Latvian poor I think there would be riots, the Swedes would not stand for it surely, but who will stand up for the Latvian poor? Another point to consider is will much of the IMF money given to Latvia end up in the Swedish banks pockets as it is used to service debts? If anyone with a better knowledge of economics can answer that one I will be glad to know but it will be interesting to know where all the money actually ends up, I somehow don't think much will end up in the pockets of the pensioners and the sick.

Photos this week 1) pepper plants that had to be brought in due to the frost, 2) aubergines continuing to grow in the house now also due to the cold, 3) marrows, carrots, cucumbers, 7 pumpkins (plus one more not on the photo) from the mystery plants growing in our manure heap, well we don't know how they got there as we didn't plant them but quite a harvest nonetheless 4) four sacks of potatoes, not bad for an apparently bad potato year 5) all the beans that need de-podding and apples waiting to be sorted.

To rescue or not to rescue that is the question.

Ian was doing his knght in shining armour bit this week - well what else do you have a truck and lots of time for, especially as he likes the word "semi-retired"? Okay it was not knight in shining armour, more like man in shiny red truck accompanied by his trusty companion for the day, our neighbour Bruce. A while ago I mentioned that we shouldn't succumb to white charger syndrome, the need to be seen as a rescuer or a knight in shining armour. I am not saying that we shouldn't help but our whole identity cannot be built on that and I still stand by that but being available to help when asked is important, we can get too busy to be of service to those who need a helping hand. The rescue entailed a two hour drive to collect another neighbour's white van that had broken down and also involved being stopped by the police but fortunately it was just a routine stop. Being stopped by the police can be a little entertaining here as they are usually just looking for someone who has been drinking, or driving without insurance, which is common enough, and it confuses the policemen that we have Latvian licenses and Latvian car but unfortunately still don't speak much Latvian so generally it means they just check documents and send us on our way without any hassle at all.

Just an update about the language. We are still struggling as we don't pick up the language quickly, it develops word by word and that is only occasionally. We have tried to see if any teachers of English would like to teach us Latvian, but so far have drawn a blank but since the schools have just gone back then there is still time. So pray we find someone soon.

We are working on trying to get equipment together to work on the land and that has meant trips here there and everywhere - well that is what it feels like at time and has usually meant Ian doing a lot of leg work as I have been a good girl and stayed at home to study. Our tractor apparently is on its way here from Italy and so should be on a truck..... somewhere.... en route, so who knows where it is at the moment, but at least should be here soon... well possibly! We have also been to look at some poly tunnels which have a wooden constructions. The wood we think is sourced here from Latvia from their own wood yard (if we understood correctly that is). We are working on the premise that wooden constructions are repairable and also they can be double lined which is a boon in this climate. Next challenge will be to get them ordered and at least one up before the winter then we can start veg off early next year. Once winter sets in there will be no chance of getting one until well into the spring, especially if we have as much snow as we did this last winter. It will be a race against time I think.

Today we intended to set off and purchase a wood stove so that we have some independent heat, as it was very very cold last year before they decided to put the communal heating on and there is no guarantee that they will even switch it on at all this year. We decided to check with our apartment manager first, to see what was happening about the heating and we found out we needed a piece of paper giving us permission to be able to install a wood stove in our flat, which is reasonable enough but hadn't been told before even though we had asked (boy oh boy mutter mutter). She wrote down in Latvian the permission that we needed and rang to find out where we got the paper from and we duly set off on a 45km trip to Madona. As it turned out it was more like a treasure hunt. We got to the fire station only to find no one there who spoke English but in German were told to come back later, so off we went for lunch. A little while later with the help of Google translate we were told we couldn't get the paper there we had to go to see the building inspector at the town hall. With the help of a very kind lady from the tourist information office we found the building inspector. He could speak some English, but told us we couldn't get the paper there for our area we had to go back to Ergli and we were given the name of a person to speak to, and when we got there.....? The office was closed and they only work Wednesday and Friday mornings. So no paper, no fire! Well not yet anyway. The hunt will continue for the elusive paper. Part of the problem here in Latvia is that some things are done illegally - sometimes out of ignorance of new laws and sometimes because it costs too much to do it legally for many, and then with the crisis lots of offices have shut and certain operations amalgamated so no one is really sure who does what now.

Well besides treasure hunts and rescue missions it has been gardening this week, bringing in the harvest. We now have about three quarters of the potatoes dug but it has been hard as it has rained quite a bit over the weekend and I was getting a little worried they may just rot in the ground but there was a bonus to a wet weekend - a husband at a loose end. Ian finally painted the outside kitchen wall, it is not quite the colour I wanted but it looks better than it did and freshens the place up so I am not complaining (can't complain too much I chose the colour, so don't know what happened there). I have also been trying to deal with the glut from the garden and trying my best to use up courgettes (zucchini) and green tomatoes and I am getting to the stage that if I see another courgette this year I think I will scream. Betty Crocker's zucchini bread is very useful for using up lots of courgettes, so thanks to my neighbour Kim for that recipe, and I added courgettes to the green tomato chutney thanks to Google for that recipe. I have also made green tomato mincemeat - no idea what it will taste like but it smelt wonderful and Christmassy - oh the wonders of google for recipes, next project is green tomato ketchup! Hmm????

On a more serious note the news is still not good here in Latvia. The winter looks like it is going to be a tough one and I have a great deal of respect for the women getting in their crops this year (allotment gardening is mainly a woman's job here), for them it makes a considerable difference to how well they do over winter, for us it more an inconvenience if we don't get everything in as we can still go to the supermarket and buy what we need to if necessary. One of the frightening statistics in the news is that 68% of people who are working have taken a cut in salary this year. It is hard to imagine what it is doing to people or how they feel, we hear snippets from time to time such as they wish someone like Sweden would come and take them over again, or they would like to go back to the certainties of Soviet times which is all a bit scary really. There are times that we wish we could sweep in here on a white horse and change everything but it won't help, we need to encourage, we need to be responsible with our purchases and above all we need to pray for wisdom as to what we should do under the circumstances.

(Photos: Our newly painted kitchen and the largest lettuce I have ever grown)