Hello. I'm waiting for it to cool down a bit before I go and do my walk. It's been so chuffin hot here, I've been indoors for most of the day. This morning at the Village Hall for the Crafty Club, we are three years old today, and Heather very kindly baked a cake with a raspberry and cream filling. We are planning ahead and thinking about what decorations we are going to make for our Christmas tree, and we have chosen a date for next years Art Exhibition. When I came home I carried on with sewing, because it was too hot to go outside.
I have some flowers, some of them are a bit floppy but it all looks nice. Pictures taken from inside the summer house, looking out. The grass is growing nicely up to the bricks now, good to see all the bare earth finally covered in green.
Some of the yellow sticker veg has been turned into stew, portioned up, and in the freezer. It's butternut squash, sweet potato, courgettes, and spinach. Six meals, plus three smaller pots, all for a cost of £2. A slice of bread to mop up the gravy. That will save a bit of cooking when I can't be bothered.
A few more snapshots of the felt exhibition at the Arts Centre. These are amazingly complex pieces of art. They look almost like porcelain.
Nearly 8pm, I think it might be safe to go out now. Thanks for popping in, and thank you for your comments. We'll catch up soon. Toodle pip.
Hello. Here is an update on my flower beds. As you can see this one is full and lush with shades of greenery flopping over the sides. This is where I chucked lots of seeds, it's the nearest one to the summer house so I was hoping for a good display. Well it's full alright but where are the flowers? The £1 packet of wild flower seeds have turned into wild flower weeds, ha ha.
I think there may be a flower or two opening eventually here.
Possibly a poppy.
Ooooh look, a thistle.
Gawd know what this is, the biggest weed, usually seen along the edge of a field in the hedge bottom. Charming I think not. With some thinning out, the most obvious weeds ruthlessly dragged from their neighbours so the rest of them might have a better chance of producing flowers.
In other beds the £2 fuchsias from Aldi are doing well, the slugs are leaving them alone.
The five plastic storage boxes have again sprouted the greenery from the £1 packet I bought last year. Little pink flowers will be showing soon, whooopeeee.
On the subject of gardening I have a confession to make. Thinking about the hours I have to spend in the garden during the summer to keep things tidy, I have spent £20 on an electric hedge trimmer. As you know I do like being outside in the garden, pottering is my hobby, but the laborious task of keeping the hedges looking respectable can be a bit draining. So I have succumbed and bought a gadget to make the job quicker and easier. It's a cheapo Aldi trimmer, so let's see how long it lasts. I had a practice with it yesterday and whizzed through the bum fluff sprouting from the Leylandi hedge in no time at all. Yes it might cost a bit in electricity, and it's blooming noisy, but I can see it's going to be a great workout for the shoulder and upper arm muscles. I haven't bothered to pick up the trimmings, the lawn mower will do that next time I mow the grass.
A mixed bag today. I've got three arty crafty projects on the go so I keep dipping into them, bit by bit they will get finished. I've another one in my head, been sorting out some fabric for that. Library van day so I'll go and say hello to Stan and get some books changed. 3 miles to do. Kids to feed, poo picking, plants to water if it doesn't rain, might trim up another hedge if I have five minutes to spare.
Thanks for popping in, we'll catch up soon. Toodle pip
Hello. A murky start this morning but this afternoon it's roasting in the garden. I have to keep popping indoors to cool down. It's still hot now at gone six o clock. The kids are no use at all when it comes to gardening. They usually follow me around to keep me company, but today there was hardly any life in them. Heidi chose to doze under the bushes.
Bugsy took refuge under the pallet table to get out of the full sun.
And Mayze was flat out on her back in the nest she made in the long grass. Her head was hidden.
I have been tidying up the raised beds. I have to admit to buying a few more plants. I bought some Fuchsias from Aldi, and a few from a stall in the market. The colour you see though is cheats flowers, they are plastic, and they were free, ha ha. The sunflower is real.
The seeds and bulbs I planted are beginning to show.
In all this greenery I am not sure which are from seeds, and which are weeds. This is what you get when you scatter seeds will nilly. I've pulled up a few potato plants out of here.
Too darn hot. Still got my long baggy shorts as you can see. They are wearing well.
Sorry, no picture of Rocky, he is sprawled out on his bed indoors, too hot for him outside. I'm going to have to wait an hour or so before I go for a walk, wait till it cools down.
Tatty byes for now. Have a good weekend. We'll catch up soon. Toodle pip
Hello. Bit of a mixed bag tonight. Couldn't resist taking a photo of Mayze snuggled up on my bed this morning. I was up at 6am and she immediately jumps onto it and makes a nest in the duvet. The sun shines through the window and she is in heaven. What a cutie.
What do you think of this meal I had at lunchtime then? looks pretty gruesome, doesn't it, all blood and guts, ha ha. I had half a tub of chopped onions, and tub of spiraled beetroot, yellow stickers to use up. I don't know whey they call it spaghetti. Cook in a pan with some oil, add water, then add cheap noodles. Chuck in some spices and cook a bit longer. Actually it doesn't taste too bad, there is some left for tomorrow.
Things are growing in the raised beds, not sure if they are flowers or weeds. I have stuck a few plastic flowers in there to add a bit of colour.
I have three of these little trees, found them in the wheelie bins in the churchyard. Such a shame that people throw them away. They are sprouting green tips, so it looks like they might survive.
I'm taking three of the crafty ladies to the Scrapstore in the morning. I don't particularly need anything, but I bet the temptation to fill a basket for £5 will be too much to ignore. I like a mooch.
Hows the walking going everyone? The target for the end of May is 415 miles if you are on track. Don't worry if you are a long way off that, just keep walking. I shall be hitting 400 tomorrow. Although I did extra walking while I was away, I have missed five days in May up to now. I'll try not to miss any more.
Thanks for popping in. We'll catch up soon. Toodle pip
Hello. It's been a great day, I've got a lot done. I like to start the day off with sewing, the light coming in through the back window into the living room is ideal for doing close work. Even though I wear varifocals I still prefer to take my specs off and get up close when I am doing tiny stitching. I had a frame earmarked for the picture but it wasn't quite right, then I looked through the others I have and found this one. It is exactly the right size but the colour is wrong, too brown.
No worries, just paint it white. After three coats of vinyl silk emulsion it is ready.
Remember this, the collapsed pallet decking which became a graveyard for other pieces of timber and anything that didn't have a place elsewhere. I showed you the picture after I cleared it all out and took it down the tip. I leveled the ground off with some of the spare compost I had.
And now it looks like this. I re potted a few plants into bigger pots, this is all I am going to put here, I like the tidy and uncluttered look. I have scattered grass seed all around it so hopefully the lawn will cover the compost when it starts growing. Big improvement, eh!
I ended up with more bricks than I needed for the beds, but not to worry, I found a use for them. A bit of home made block paving between the bed and the summerhouse.
And these bricks fit nicely into this space between the summerhouse and the garage.
The cats like to sit on the edges of the beds, thankfully they aren't getting in them to dig. When the seeds start coming up I will take away the plastic trellis. The ground around them is a bit bare but I've scattered grass seed over it. All we have to do now is wait for things to grow.
Today I ate the second portion of the deeelishus stew, here it is. More left for tomorrow. I don't mind eating the same thing three days running, and I love the idea of cooking in one pan, just chuck it all in. Less faff and less washing up.
Thanks for popping in. We'll catch up soon. Toodle pip
Hello. This pampered pooch loves his bed. He lies on the edge of my duvet, and has his own small duvets, one underneath and one on top. I get up in the morning and he lies there waiting for me to get dressed, go to the bathroom, then come downstairs and open the back door.
I went to Crafty Club this morning, and after a lunch of mushrooms and scrambled eggs on toast, I went out into the garden to finish off the beds. davee is disappointed that I spent £28 on some plants, when there are plenty of seeds going free at the local park, and cuttings can be taken as well. Yes, I agree there are lots of freebies if you look around, but I haven't had hardly any treats over the last few months. Last holiday was in September, an odd day out here and there, and considering how much I have actually saved by scrounging free bricks and doing the job myself, I think I can splash out on a few plants. It looks a bit bare at the moment but there are lots of seeds in there as well, so I am hoping for a splash of colour for the summer.
These two popped in to see me when they were passing. Lulu on the left and George on the right. They know where to come for a tasty doggy treat. Quite a few dogs try and pull their owners up my driveway because they know this is the house where the owner is soft about dogs, ha ha. Aren't they adorable.
My job for tomorrow if the weather is dry. That pallet decking has to go, and see how the wooden shelving is leaning, it's rotten at the bottom and is in danger of keeling over. I have a plan for that, I can't take it away altogether because Mayze cat likes to snooze in it. Some adjustments are needed to keep it upright.
Isn't it lovely that we have more daylight hours now, I am waking up earlier as well. The first thing I see when I open my eyes are the silver birch trees in the garden behind mine. My bed is facing the back window and I leave the curtains partially open. Some mornings it's the sunrise that wakes me. Every morning I lie for a few minutes and contemplate how I might fill the fresh new day ahead of me. My life is just perfect at the moment, I have everything I need. My house is not modern, everything in it is a mish mash of different styles and colours, nothing matches. The interior decoration is the choice of the previous owners, I can live with it. My garden is my playground, there are no manicured lawns or block paving. The garage needs demolishing and a new one put up in it's place, but it won't get done, I'll manage with it. Show house it most definitely isn't, but it's my home, and it does me just fine.
A nice mug of hot chocolate will finish the day off nicely, so I'll say goodnight. Thanks for popping in. We'll catch up soon. Toodle pip.
Hello. Nothing done in the garden today, it was too darn cold. Instead I have spent some money in a small Garden Centre. I don't like the big ones, they have too many add on's, loads of stuff for sale that have nothing to do with gardens. I don't want a drink in a coffee shop, or to buy anything for the house.
This small one is a family affair, they live in the house next door, and grow their own in massive greenhouses. I prefer this set up because I can ask questions and they are really helpful. I know very little about flowers, can't remember any names, so it's a case of suck it and see for me.
Janet came with me but wasn't tempted to buy anything, she already has a well stocked garden. I however spent £28 on these plants. Not a lot really for four beds, but mixed in with a few plants I have in pots, and some seeds I bought in the £1 shop, I should have enough. I can always top it up later on if I come across some bargains.
These are what I bought a few weeks back from the £1 shop. The 50 bumper pack is the same as I had last year, I planted them in five tubs, there is such a lot for £1.
These multi pack seeds are also £1 each, let's see what we get from them this summer. Worth a try.
I did two jobs in one journey and took another load to the tip. I couldn't resist having a nose in a woman's car to see what she was throwing away. Nothing exciting, a lot of crockery oddments. I asked her if she takes anything to charity shops, she said she didn't have time.
Of course there was the usual visit to the small Tesco as we were passing, I got a bit lucky, four packs of mixed prepared veg at 15p per bag, which I am eating now, and a cheap melon, and reduced mushrooms. Always worth a look.
I had a phone call tonight from a journalist wanting to write a story about me for a magazine. This was on the cards ages ago, but didn't go ahead. I thought it was because I refused to sign an exclusivity contract. I could hardly hear what she was saying, she spoke all breathless and feathery if you know what I mean. I decided not to bother, the moment has past now, it is history.
What did you think of the Jo Brand Documentary? It was interesting to see how she got on after I left her. I'm not sure if they followed the Trans Pennine Trail to the letter, but some of it was grueling, and she was struggling. I don't know if it has given any other middle aged over weight ladies inspiration to have a go. I would imagine it has put quite a few off. She did it at the wrong time of the year, but I don't suppose she had any choice in the matter. At least she got off her bum and did it.
For those who haven't see it, here is the documentary. You catch a glimpse of me following her as she goes over the bridge, three minutes into it. I have a speaking part at four minutes. It's available for 29 days on iplayer, after that it might turn up on yoootoooob. I'm not sure if our oversees readers can get it.
We are at the weekend again, time flies, make the most of it. I hope you have a good one. We'll catch up soon. Toodle pip
