Home made super deluxe garden table.

Home made super deluxe garden table.

free garden home made recycle reuse

Hello. I thought I would give you an extra day to check in with your miles, and I'm pleased to see that the Walking Group are doing really well. It's good to read your comments, I can sense the determination in your writings, to do the best you can. It's nice to know that you are not finding it a chore, and now look forward to increasing your fitness levels. Stick with it everyone, do as much as you can, any walking is better than no walking. 

It was a good turnout at Crafty Club this morning, a full table again. It's been a lovely sunny day and I had a project I wanted to get on with this afternoon. Out with the tools, hammer, screwdrivers, saw, screws and nails. A bit of DIY is needed. 

My garden table is getting a bit wonky, it has been repaired once and now the wood is rotting further. Musn't grumble, I made it a few years ago and it cost me nothing, I have had good use out of it. It has been mainly used for potting plants and seeds, and any other DIY job which needed to be done outdoors. I've sawn many a piece of wood on this table. But now it's at the end of it's useful life, I need another one.

And here it is. The new all singing and dancing deluxe model. Heidi likes it. 

The two ends used to be a bed, out of a skip of course, I've had them ages. I've still got the base but it didn't fit in with this project. Some of the wood was from the four divan beds I had from my friend when they moved. I didn't have a pallet to cover the whole top, so I used a narrow pallet on the right where Heidi is lying. On the left I used two side pieces from a divan bed with some blocks nailed at each end to bring it up to the same height as the pallet. The top is one piece but I haven#'t screwed it to the frame, in case I want to move it.

I'm mighty pleased with that, my home made garden table/work bench. It's very sturdy, the cross bars hold it all together. Old screws used so it was all free.

Thanks for popping in, we'll catch up soon.
Toodle pip

A summers day in the summer house

A summers day in the summer house

cats crafty stuff enjoy garden

Hello. Thank you all for your questions yesterday, it certainly gave me something to blog about didn't it, ha ha. Today has been a laid back kind of day. After taking Bailey dog for a walk this morning, I spent the afternoon in the summer house. It was lovely and hot, I think summer has arrived. Some stitching was done. 

There isn't much in here at the moment, a table and a chair, and this vase on a stand with artificial flowers and monkey puzzle tree pieces in it.

Three mugs and a cat ornament on the shelf. A bit of dusting is needed to remove the cobwebs, and the glass in the doors needs cleaning to spruce it up a bit. The roof hasn't leaked it's all dry inside despite the gaps in the walls.

Heidi cat is doing a bit of sunbathing on the shelf in the corner.

Another portion of soup made from the rest of the cauliflower leaves, with frozen peas and frozen spinach added. I put in half a teaspoon of curry powder to give it a bit of a zing. 

Someone asked about stick blenders. This is mine, I got it from Tesco with my points vouchers. It's very sturdy and robust, I've had it a few years and it's great.

I'm off to bed now, I took some books out of the library yesterday so I have plenty of reading matter. Thanks for popping in, we'll catch up soon.
Toodle pip.

Why was Brenda laughing?

Why was Brenda laughing?

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Hello. What is so funny about my boots? Can someone tell me why Brenda almost collapsed into fits of laughter when she looked down at my feet? 

I can't see anything wrong with them. Isn't it normal to get as much wear out of something as you can before it becomes useless and has to be chucked? These boots have served me well, I got them from a charity shop  a few years ago, about five I think. For a couple of quid, they looked decent enough to go to town in. Then when they began to show signs of scuffing they were relegated to walks around the village. No one bothers what I look like round here, they are used to me looking a bit odd.

They then became a bit loose on my feet so I thought I'd better just use them for gardening. I tie the laces like that so I can just slip my feet in and out of them without too much bending down. While in the garden I am often popping back into the house for something I have forgotten, so I don't want to be bothering with tying laces every time I wear them.

There isn't much gardening to do at the moment, but these boots are not for chucking just yet. I still have to hang the washing out, or put some waste in the bins, or water the pot plants if it doesn't rain. They will be sitting by my back door for a while yet, there is still a bit more wear left in them. I think they could do with a bit of tarting up, I may paint them lovely colours  ;o)

I'm off to the library van, I haven't seen Stan in weeks, he will be wondering what has happened to me. Thanks for popping in, we'll catch up soon
Toodle pip

New arrangements for a doddery old cat

New arrangements for a doddery old cat

cats garden odds-n-sods

Hello. I didn't feel like going to Crafty Club this morning, didn't want to be quizzed about Rocky, so I decided to go late and slip in while they were nattering away to each other, and maybe they would carry on nattering. Didn't work. C said she was sorry to hear about Rocky, which set me off, then she said she had also lost her own dog a few days ago, so then I decided that we might as well get it all out in the open and talk about our losses. On top of that one lady came back after a long break, she has been nursing her sick husband who passed away a couple of months ago, so the mood was charged with emotion for a while, until normal conversations kicked in. Anyway, I am trying to move on, as everyone has to when faced with the loss of a beloved pet, or a beloved family member. 

This is the new arrangement in my living room now. Yes, the cat litter box has been installed on the table next to the food tray. I couldn't understand where the puddles were coming from on my desk and the table. The water level in the bowl was going down rather quickly, was Bugsy splashing as he drank or was he puking it back up again? He has decided that this window sill is his preferred place, for watching the world go by as well as sleeping there. I caught the little hooligan yesterday. He had a bite to eat, then immediately peed on the table, next to the tray. I grabbed him and put him in the litter box on the floor. the idle beggar couldn't be bothered to climb down and do it in the proper place. I think he may be losing his marbles. 

Aren't these flowers wonderful? The daughter of my elderly neighbour, who visits every day, bought them for me on hearing about Rocky. People are so kind.

Here's a little tip which will help your aching back, not that I have an aching back, mind you. I got rid of my plastic washing basket years ago. It was cumbersome, annoying to get out from under the stairs on wash day, and all that bending down to fill it out of the machine, then take it to the garden, more bending to hang the washing out.

I have a tall folding bar stool which fits in a space next to the kitchen worktop in the corner. When the washing is done I pull it out of the machine, shake the creases out and lay it flat on the chair. I don't like peg bags so I have my pegs in a basket, this I clip onto the back of the stool with a bulldog clip. Everything is at a comfortable working height so no bending down. I carry the whole lot outside and set it down on the grass to hang the washing. When it's dry, do the same procedure in reverse. Easy peasy, keeps my back straight.

Hey, look. New shoots are appearing on the lilac tree stumps. That's a good sign.

Look what has happened while I have been sitting here. Bugsy relieving himself. I suppose I had better scoop out the soiled litter now.

Thanks for popping in, we'll catch up soo.
Toodle pip

I like purple frogs

I like purple frogs

garden growing flowers growing veg recycle

Hello. There is the most stunning sunset tonight, but it will be gone in a few minutes. Strings of orange slowly sinking, with parts of the blue sky visible behind it, and dark clouds hovering yet hardly moving at all. Now the orange is turning to red as it drops below the roofs across the road. . 

So, what have I done today. It was time for Mr frogs makeover. I put a very pale green undercoat on him first. I thought I might leave it that colour but it looked a bit boring, so I thought why not jazz him up a bit. This colour is called Positively Purple, it's a Dulux tester pot, it looks blue on the photo, but it is purple. I found the easiest way to paint it was to put the wheelie bin in the middle of the lawn with an upturned pot underneath him. He is at the right height, no bending, and I could walk all the way around him, reaching all parts, with very little effort. 

The mat he is sitting on is a bit broken round the edge, but it doesn't matter, can't complain, it was free. I painted his eyes, yellow. .

While I had it on the brush, I painted Mrs Tiggy's eyes as well.

Who says you can't have a purple frog and a green hedgehog, ha ha.

Snacking today was two kiwi fruits, a nectarine, with a splodge of  plain yogurt. 

Look, I've got runner beans, yippeee. A kindly reader put some dried beans in a goody bag parcel she sent me. Thank you, and now I have beans to eat.

These are doing really well, £2 from Aldi.

And I have a few of these pretty flowers in the beds. The bulbs were from Poundland.

How are you all doing with the walking? Only five more days to the end of the month. The target for the eighth month is 666 miles, and I am on 650. I doubled up today and walked six miles. Might have to do that again.

I'm struggling to keep my eyes open here, so I'd better sign off. Thanks for popping in, we'll catch up soon.
Toodle pip.

Tarting up Mrs Tiggy-winkle

Tarting up Mrs Tiggy-winkle

garden library reuse

Hello. Remember these two, they were unwanted, thrown out, destined for the skip. 

Mrs Tiggy-winkle has had a makeover. I was going to paint her in several different colours but I could see that it was going to be a fiddly job, so I opted for an all over transformation with subtle green metalic paint. Much easier to do, and she looks like brand new again, even better than the original finish.  

I went to the mobile library today and came across a book which might be very useful for my next project, ha ha.  Having a coffee break, I'll have a read and see what materials I will need.

Blooming hot today outside, I've trimmed my hair, done a load of washing, now it's tea time.

Thanks for popping in, we'll catch up soon. Toodle pip

Bonkers.

Bonkers.

arty stuff garden

Hello, back again. This is the gaping hole in my hedge left by me chopping down lilac trees. Not a pretty sight. I could struggle on with my basic tools and try to remove more of the stumps, but the closer to the ground I get the more backbreaking the job will be. I think they are best left as they are, they may start sprouting new growth from what's left of them. If this happens I expect it will take least a year for the hole to become anything like a real living hedge again. 

So something needs to be done while I wait for mother nature to work her magic. Now what have I got that would fill the gap. I have some spare pot plants that I could relocate to disguise it a little. What I need is something to create a barrier behind the stumps, something with a little height. There must be something lurking amongst my collection of odds and sods in the garage. 

 Yes, there was. A few months ago I was mooching around Uncle Stan's garden with him, when he pointed out several pieces of what was mostly junk, and offered them to me in the hope I might be able to do something with them. I declined the rotten pallets, but a piece of green wire mesh caught my eye, that might come in useful, I thought.

It fit's the gap just right. I had a couple of lengths of metal  which used to be a gazebo frame, they were threaded through the mesh and hammered into the ground, one at each end. All it needs now is some kind of decoration to make it more interesting. I have plenty of old freebie cd's, some old and very hard paint brushes, some Christmas baubles, and two wire flowers with a couple of plastic ones. Move four of the pots into place, and there you have it. A new, completely bonkers, art instillation in the hedgerow. I love it, and I think Uncle Stan would approve.

Thanks for popping in. We'll catch up soon.
Toodle pip