Attic24

Back Yard Busy

Aren't the above little flowery pansy faces adorable? They don't belong to me, I spotted them in my neighbours front garden this morning and tiptoed in to photograph them. It's been a terrific day here, really, really lovely! Not only was it dry for the whole day, but it was also properly warm for the first time in many, many weeks. It felt absolutely wonderful to walk across town in the late morning with No Coat for a change, gosh I even rolled up my sleeves to let some air to my skin. The warm sun and blue sky made me want to skip with happiness, truly it did.

I had an hour or so to myself this morning with Little B away at playgroup, so I made the very most of the weather and decided to spend it being busy outside. Pretty much as soon as I walked back through the door, I dumped my shopping bags, flung on my dirty gardening apron, rolled up my sleeves and got stuck in.

I've been wanting to get going with my back yard for weeks, but the weather has not been kind. As I am currently shed-less I cannot carry out garden tasks in the wet. It just isn't doable. I do have this ok little area with benches and stuff to work on, but it would be so much better if there was a roof.

But today I didn't need a roof and it was perfect for a little bit of Back Yard Busy.

My first job was to pot on my lovely basil seedlings, oh I've been worrying my heart over these little things as they began to grow leggy and crowded in their small two inch pot in the kitchen. I desperately needed to give them room to stretch their roots and grow, but I've been scuppered by not having any compost (not an easy thing to cart home in the pushchair), and not having the right weather to see to them. Thank goodness they now have a bright yellow pot each, and their new greenhousey home to keep them snug for a few more weeks until it warms up a bit outside.

My nasturtium, cosmos and morning glory seedlings which were sown in March were also in dire need of more space. They germinated and grew well on my kitchen windowsill, but had become a little lanky and spindly (should have been potted on weeks ago of course). So I'm hoping that they'll be OK now that they also have new pots and a cosy home on the greenhouse shelves.

After the emergency re-housing of seedlings, I was still buzzing with the joy of being outside with the sun on my face and my hands in the soil.  I wanted to plant more seeds, but time had run out and I was forced to wash my dirty hands and dash across town to collect Little B. I couldn't wait to get back and pick up where I left off, this time accompanied by my Little Helper.

I decided to go with some edibles today. These seeds are all left over from previous years, and I can't tell you how good it felt to be actually Doing Things with them instead of just gazing at the packets. Yippeee for Actually Doing Things!!!!  So yeah, edibles....I planted some dwarf French beans look, purple and yellow ones (variety Purple Queen and Sonesta)....

...I also sewed some rocket seeds and some kind of mixed salad leaves that I found. Looking forward to a little bit of scissor-snipping in weeks to come, I am really rather excited at the prospect of eating my very own Home Grown produce.

A few more flower seeds were sown into my windowsill pots too...Nigella (variety Midnight Blue) and Rudbeckia (variety Rustic Dwarf). Busy-busy in my backyard today folks, I was really on a roll. Oh and I also sewed some sunflower seeds into my collection of empty toilet roll tubes. These were also seeds that I bought last year but failed to open, and they are not your average sunflowers. Nope, these are red ones called "Evening Sun", and I am so willing them to work out. I need them in my life, I really do.

This is my new greenhouse in action, and I am sooooo pleased with it! It cost £10 from a local discount shop, and is just perfect for what I need. I took some advice from friends and a) lined the shelves with bubble wrap to keep off the chill (our nights are still very cold here) and b) weighted the whole shebang down with a few spare bricks and bags of compost to prevent Blowing Away accidents.

Awwww my little plantlets look so happy in their new cosy home! Grow little plants, grow.

I love it when a day turns out to be so full and productive and satisfying. Sometimes being Busy is really very good indeed, especially when it's the outdoor variety.

Tiring though, cripes, I was proper worn out by 2.30 when all was done and dusted. Thirsty too, I was overcome with a sudden craving for a cold glass of juice, and I never normally drink juice at all. So I walked with Little B down to the newsagent at the bottom of the street and purchased a bottle of Robinsons apple and blackcurrant. He was thrilled at the whole idea of buying and drinking juice as it's normally strictly water and milk here. His juice-drinking face was a picture of pure pleasure, I wish you could've seen him. The juice was good I have to say. And I loved the colour of it glowing all pink in the sun.

Sigh. It's been such a lovely day, did I say that already?

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ps suddenly had this warm fuzzy thought about going outside in the morning to unzip my greenhouse and chat to my plantlets/seeds. Can't wait!

 

 

 

 

The Magic of Seeds

Yesterday morning I really fancied a good cup of coffee, you know a Proper Coffee made from freshly roasted and ground beans, with hot, well frothed milk on top. I didn't just fancy it actually, I was absolutely gasping for it. I cut back my caffeine intake a few months ago, switching to drinking decaff at home, but I do confess to loving the hit from a decent caffeine-fuelled cappuccino. A few times a week when I'm out and about in town I indulge and enjoy, it's become a real pleasure and something I look forward to during the week. Somehow it tastes better because I'm not having it so often.

Anyhow, yesterday....late yesterday morning I walked the two minutes to the bottom of my street where miraculously there happens to be the most fantastic coffee shop. They roast and grind 35 different types of coffee beans on the premises, and my-oh-my the take out coffees are superb. But they are made of strong stuff. Uh-huh, s-t-r-o-n-g. About half an hour after drinking my delicious cappuccino yesterday, I was hit sideways by a wave of caffeine, the sort that leaves you feeling jittery on the edge of your seat and unable to sit still. I kind of like the feeling, it causes me to rush about and  DO Things.

So yesterday's caffeine rush combined with the sun shining induced a frenzy of outdoor activity. It was marvellous! I got such a lot done!

I decided to do something quite rare and impulsive for me and Plant Seeds. It's been quite a few years since I did this, as although I reliably buy seeds each year, I don't actually ever plant them. I tend to put them in a bowl in my kitchen, gaze sweetly at the pretty packets each day, and leave it at that. Not so this year!!!!! No, no no!! This year, aided by that terrific cappuccino, I got down to some dirty work and seeds have really been planted. I'm so happy!

I find the whole idea of planting seeds absolutely mind blowing, I really do. They never fail to astound me, these little tiny brown dry things. How marvelously clever they are! It really does seem like magic to me, that you can stick them into the dirt, provide water and warmth and lo and behold they will germinate and sprout and push their little shoots skywards.

The first seeds to hit the earth were Pot Marigolds (calendular), which I adore. I decided to plant them directly into this old colander which I bought last weekend in a second hand shop. I'd remembered seeing one on Steph's blog planted up with flowers and the image had stuck. I thought it was a fantastic idea to use one of these for flower growing, it has in-built drainage holes and everything. A little bit of Kitchenalia Chic.

On Friday I purchased a couple £1 pots of sweet pea seedlings from the supermarket. Now as with the seeds, I also buy these every single year then forget about them, leaving the poor things to become spindly, tangled and root bound in their pots. The resulting plants therefore begin their growing lives in rather a traumatised fashion and never recover to grow as they should. I always then feel dreadfully guilty and annoyed at myself, but not so this year! No, no no!! This year, aided by that terrific cappuccino, I got down to some dirty work, gently separating the seedlings out, pinching out their growing tips (as advised by Mum) and transplanting them into some large pots. Happy, happy, happy :o)

The caffeine was still coursing through my body at this point, so I rushed down to the cellar and located my Tub Of Old Seeds. These are the seeds that have been reliably bought-but-not-opened during the past four years. Four years of flower dreams that never came to fruition. Hahaaaaaaa!!!!!! Not So This year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This year I am making it happen!

First out of the seed archives is Morning Glory, how I love love love these exuberant climbers. I am very excited at the thought of having them twining around and about the place this summer, producing their gorgeous trumpety blue flowers each day.

I found some old chipped china bowls in my back yard and thought I could sow my seeds into them instead of the usual little plastic plant pots or trays. That way I'd be able to bring them inside to my teeny-tiny kitchen windowsill and they would look quite at home. Also, they wouldn't leak water everywhere cos there aren't any holes.

After the Morning Glory came the Nasturtiums, variety "Jewel Mixed". Love love love Nasturtiums. L-o-v-e 'em. Love their sweet, humble beauty, love their vibrant colours and love the way they are always so cheerful and happy looking.

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!! I planted Nasturtiums!

After the Nasturtiums came Cosmos, variety "Dwarf Sonata Mixed". These will hopefully become foot high daisy type flowers in shades of pink and white, with delightful feathery soft foliage.

Sweet little magic seeds, I am willing you to grow. I am already dreaming of pyjama clad early morning summer forays into my back yard to snip away at nasturtiums, sweet peas, cosmos and marigolds. I'm hoping to create the most gorgeous little cutting garden out the back here, I can hardly wait. I don't need armfuls of flowers to be happy. Just enough to fill a little glass ink bottle or a weeny hand painted jug will do.

Of course, I do realise that planting seeds is a relatively easy thing to do, and that it's only the very first stage in a long line of stages before the flowers appear. I do realise that I am now responsible for the upkeep of these seed bowls, need to administer correct amounts of water, need to sing and chat daily to them in order to encourage growth. I do realise that there will then come the business of PrickingOut and PottingOn, and then possibly some HardeningOff? In actual fact it's quite a lot of sustained effort to nuture a flowering plant from seed. But I am up for the challenge. Yes indeedy. Bring on the magic.

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Doing my Job

I have my off days like anyone else, but mostly I have to say I adore my job as a stay-home-mum. It suits me down to the ground and I consider myself very fortunate to be able to do this job, a job I love with all my heart. I'm not a worker really, no not really. By nature I'm far too idle and ditsy and free-floating to be a good employee, I do pretty much hate being told what to do. I like to feel free, I like to feel that (within reason) I can pick and choose what I want to do each day, set my own schedule according to my mood and the weather.

That's not to say that I don't like routine, cos I do. I like to have some basic structure to my days,  and certain things do need to be done each day, and I do need to be in certain places at set times each day. But that all balances out with the deliciousness of being able to free-float in and out and inbetween the must-do's and must-be's. Like I say, it suits me down to the ground.

I'm really enjoying this stage of Motherhood, I like the playgroup/nursery years a great deal more than the baby years I think. We get to have quite a bit of fun, Little B and I, he is terrific company. I'm enjoying the pace of our days and weeks and feel we're finally achieving a good balance between together time and away time, catering for each of our needs pretty well I'd say.

Thursday is the one day which I leave open without plans. No music groups, no toddler groups, no playgroups, no arrangements. Sometimes my in-laws come across and look after Little B so I can skip with my bag to knit and natter at the cafe. Sometimes I take Little B with me to knit and natter, where I spend much of my time trying to keep him away from the coffee machine which he is obsessed with. But lately, we've just been hanging out together at home on Thursday's, and it's been lovely to enjoy a bit of quiet down time together.

Yesterday though, well yesterday was declared (by me) to be a day for Going Places. The sun was shining and I suddenly thought how grand it would be to walk down to the station and take a train ride. I ran the idea by Little B, and he responded with a great big Yeeeeeaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh! and an excited kicking of his legs. So down to the station we went to get on a red, shiny train.

Little B had selected suitable reading material for the occasion, and we chatted about various forms of transport for the whole fifteen minute journey. Actually, no that's not true as we did look out the window quite a bit and pointed out things we could see. Sheep and tractors and lorries and the such like.

We journeyed to a nearby town in search of essential clothing supplies for my offspring who will not stop growing. Destination Large Supermarket. We got to ride in a lift. I bought Little B some incredibly dinky-sweet Fireman Sam underpants and new pyjamas with dinosaurs on. New socks and jammies for the Little People too. And one or two wee things for Mummy which snook into the basket, I'll show you those in a bit.

Once all the shopping was done with, we walked the few minutes back to the station and jumped on the train back again. But instead of going all the way back to our home town, we got off a stop early, at the village we visited a month or so ago,  the one with the fabulous play park. What a grand plan that was, Little B was all smiles, and I felt all puffed up and pleased with myself. Doing a Good Job today I thought, what a happy day of Going Places and having fun being Mummy!

Unlike last time we were here which was during the school holidays, today the park was deserted when we arrived. Totally empty and all ours. It was great.

We had the whole run of it, even the giant sandpit which is usually full of kids on busy days.

It was a beautiful day yesterday, still quite chilly, but unmistakably an early Spring sort of a chill and not a late Winter chill.

I was delighted to see some early blossom, it looked so very, very pretty.

And full blown pussy willow too, a sure sign that Spring has most definitely sprung in my patch.

After a good while playing at the park I began to feel peckish, so I persuaded Little B to pause and come have lunch. He was devilishly busy collecting up handfuls of wood chippings and shoving them through a hole in one of the little stone walls, but at the mention of food he came running. We sat at a wooden picnic table in the sunshine and ate some sandwiches, biscuits, bananas and grapes that I'd bought with us. How I love to picnic eat outdoors, I really do love it. So simple and so satisfying. I did have a little bit of picnic envy as a family arrived at the next table and the other Mummy had thought to bring a flask. Damn, I slipped up there, I suddenly felt most desperate for a cup of tea when I spied her pouring smugly from her flask.

The sky was a hazy blue, the sun a sort of pale, watered down version of it's usual bright self. But it was truly blissful to have hazy blue and pale yellow shine down on me as I ate lunch.

It took a lot of persuading to get Little B to leave the park, we were there quite a long time. But eventually I really did kind of Need To Go if you get what I mean (no facilities at the park unfortunately), so I scooped him up (literally) and trotted the few minutes to the little station to wait for the next train back.

I sat on the platform bench and crossed my legs (getting desperate for Facilities), and Little B sat and crossed his legs too. He has new pumps this week look, dinosaur ones, very cute. Already well worn in.

By the time we arrived home, Little B was flat out asleep in his pushchair, worn out from the mornings excitements. I had about an hour and a half before the school run so I quickly chopped and mixed and got the dinner on to slow cook (a curry, this recipe but made with red lentils and mixed peppers. It was delish). Then I set about playing with my new purchases.....

This is what I bought for myself from the Large Supermarket, I just couldn't resist their happy, carefree, colourful charms. They were only £1 each and I felt so giddy putting them through the checkout and stashing them away in my bag. 

I spent a while jigging about in the back yard, clearing away the dead things from some of my big pots so that I could satisfactorily "plant" my windmills. Oh what fun! They look so charming!

I can see them from my kitchen window, spinning round and round in the breeze. I love them.

After all that, I had a weeny window of time left to make myself a brew and sit out in the sunshine a while. I've positioned a chair and cushion right outside my back door for just such occasions as that's where the afternoon sun hits at this time of year.

I sat and thought about our day, and what a good time we'd had together, Little B and I. In fact, our days and weeks are really full of simple pleasure I have to say, we've settled in to a very lovely weekly routine. You may remember I told you he had started going to playgroup two mornings a week? Well the first fortnight was hideous and I felt constantly wrung out with the emotional strain of leaving him when he was crying so much. But then on the 5th day, his lip wobbled considerably, but he Did Not Cry (oh joy!!), and on the 6th day he was subdued but no quivering lips. And by the time we hit the 7th day (which was last week), he positively beamed with happiness when we arrived, waved goodbye to me and ran in to play. Such a humongous relief, I can't tell you.

Right, all this talk about Doing My Job is making me think that right now I should not be sat at my desk chatting to you. Sorry, I do need to go now. Need to scoot off and attend to the business of cleaning. It's Friday morning, Little B is happily at playgroup (yiipeppepeeeeee) and I've got some Home Blessing to do.

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Outside Potential

One of the things I love about this time of year is the subtle shift of focus from indoors to outdoors. It's still a bit early here to spend any great length of time outside, ie it's still bloomin' cold! But I am starting to spend little pockets of the day out in my backyard, pegging out the laundry, checking over my rather forlorn pots, pottering about with Little B. And it feels rather good.

I had a good squizzy into all of my pots this week to see what's alive and what's not. I'm happy to report that the honeysuckle is re-sprouting, as are the chives. The rosemary has bright new tips growing, and the mint is having a good think about waking up. Not too sure about the rest, lots of dead looking stuff, but then I did have a lot of annuals in the pots that are not supposed to carry on.

My Creative Mind is starting it's familiar annual journey into all things Outdoors. My head is buzzing with the possibilities, and it's simultaneously thrilling and exhausting. I am conjuring up all sorts of mental images (my Minds Eye is boggling!), plans to prettify. I'm thinking new bunting. Crochet seat pads. A bench (with cushions). More vertical planting involving trellis. More big planting involving erm..Big Things in Big Pots. Shrubbery? Small trees? I am hugely excited about it all.

One thing I think blogging is especially good for is Recording Progress and documenting Before-and-After endeavours. So with this in mind, I took a few photos in my back yard yesterday, even though at this time of year it all looks a bit grim. Consider this the "before" element of a work in progress.

I stood on a chair in the corner with the camera held above my head to take a photo so that you can get an idea of the scale. It's L shaped and tiny. Each stone square measures 60cm, so I've got about 12m² in the main bit as you come out the kitchen door and then a little bit more under the kitchen window.

This is the view directly out of the kitchen door. I love that old stone wall, although I would equally love to see some greenery scampering up there. Ivy perhaps?

This is the outer boundary wall that you'll probably be familiar with as this is where I plant up and photograph most of my summer annuals. Funny, I remember writing about this wall in one of my early posts about the back yard...here it is, June 2008. The ideas I had back then for topping the wall with a bit of fence and creating a narrow raised bed to grow climbers in are still in residence. I'm currently looking for a builder who can do clever things with stone as I've decided the raised bed must be made of stone. Like the house.

This is the view down to the teeny bit of "working" space I have outside, where I keep my pots and tools and gardening paraphernalia. It's not very pretty. But I'm visualising (in my busy Minds Eye) a weeny potting shed at the end there. Painted aqua blue and strung with bunting. Can you picture it?

And now we're looking back again, into the main square of space. To the left is the window into the dining room, my desk is under that window. I'm thinking of moving my herbs and putting a wooden bench under the window, as the sun hits that spot just in time for early morning coffee in the summer.

I have to say, although this is a small, humble little space, I really do quite like it. It has potential to be an awful lot more than it is, and isn't the Thought Of Potential one of lifes most exciting things??

J very frequently says how much he misses our old garden, which was quite a substantial corner plot. Lots of green hedges and flower borders, a large lawn, apple trees, a playhouse for the Little Peeps, a vegetable bed. Of course, he forgets how much work is involved with a garden. He forgets how irritated he used to get when the grass needed mowing and the hedge needed trimming and the large shrubs needed pruning. He says he feels guilty that Little B is growing up without a garden to play in. Pah, what rubbish I told him!! So to prove my point I took a whole load of photos and some (very sweet) video footage of Little B at play last week, to show him just how much fun can be had in our small back yard.

I filled an old washing up bowl with warm soapy water, and out came the watering can. Lots of watery, soapy fun was had.

The dumper truck was also brought outside, I wish you could hear the babble that accompanied this play. It was joyful!

A little water and a few pebbles, what good, clean fun.

We pottered and played with the water for a  good while, then I decided to introduce a bit of dirty fun.

Ahhhhhhh yes, lets get dirty! Digging and filling up pots with damp earth, it was wonderful. A lovely little time spent outdoors before cold hands, wet clothes and sleepy eyes told us it was time to head back inside for afternoon nap.

And just as I was packing the play things away, I happened to notice the fresh buds on my sweet Little Nut Tree. Oh joy! I was given this small sappling in the summer when it was in leaf (it's a hazel tree) and of course being a deciduous tree it lost all it's leaves when the weather turned. I was very worried that it might've died, but I hoped with all my heart that it was just going to sleep. I am soooo excited about those leaves coming back again.

In fact, I am excited about an awful lot of things right now. So much Potential, so much creative fun to be had in the great outoors. I am brimming over with the thought of it all to come.

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July 2011

Ahh July, what a sweet month you are turning out to be!

Life has been very full and busy during July but my overall memory of the past three weeks contains much happiness. The weather's been a mixed bag but mostly I recall it's been pretty good around  here really. Warm and summery, sometimes quite humid and thundery, but beautifully warm yes, and plenty of sunshine. We've spent quite a lot of time outdoors taking it all in, appreciating all that these long summer days have to offer. Picnics and barbecues by the river. Impromptu trips to the park. Ice creams. Water fights. The sound of children playing out till well gone 9pm. Chilled white wine with friends. Lots of salad meals that involve No Cooking. Bare arms, flip flops and silver painted toe nails. The smell of high summer in the evening air. Delightful.

At the very beginning of July I went off on a little solo adventure. In an airplane no less. I tootled off to Manchester airport very early one Saturday morning, climbed on that there white metal bird with it's slightly scary propellers and flew down to Southampton, which took all of 45 minutes. It was an amazing flight with clear blue skies and the most fabulous views of the landscape below. At one point we flew right over a hot air balloon, I was quite beside myself with the beauty of it all. When I arrived in Southampton I hopped on a train and travelled a further 100 minutes west to arrive in Dorset by ten am. Wow. Yorkshire to Dorset by ten am! Never done that before!! It was a really great journey and I thoroughly enjoyed the whole business of being on the move. Just me by myself with a small rucksack on my back, making the journey to visit my dear Mum in hospital.

Later that same day after I'd spent all afternoon at the hospital, I got onto a local bus and travelled a further 40 minutes west to get to Bridport where I was staying the night. When I got off the bus, I had a sudden realisation that I had no door keys, and that the house where I was staying would be empty till midnight (everyone was off making merry at a wedding). It was a beautiful early summers evening, so I decided to while away an hour or two by travelling some more. I journeyed on foot this time, a mere 45 minutes tramping south across familiar fields until I reached the blue of the sea.

West Bay harbour was an absolute picture, the evening light was incredible, and at 6pm it was still very hot. I went to a bar with the above view and sat on the terrace drinking an ice cold beer in the sunshine.

Enjoyable as it was, I was still in a bit of a predicament re getting to my bed for the night. So I decided on one more jaunt on foot, this time an hours journey along the coast to a neighbouring village where the wedding reception was taking place and where my host and hostess would hopefully be found with The Keys to The Door. I walked up over West Cliff....

....and enjoyed some wonderful peaceful time being Me-by-myself on top of the cliffs, gazing out across the bluest of blue seas with the sun on my face and a spring in my step. I have some fabulous memories from this little snippet of time, it was such bliss finding myself quite unexpectedly on a familiar sunny clifftop beside the sea. All By Myself. Just Me. I can't tell you how good it felt, such a rare luxury at this stage in my parenting career to have time so completely to myself.

I did eventually end up at the wedding reception after a lot of huffing and puffing (hugely steep hills in that village don't you know). I felt a little conspicuous walking into the venue wearing my crop jeans and a sweaty teeshirt when everyone else was done up to the nines, but hey, I carried it off with a broad smile.

The next morning I joined a large post-wedding gathering for a spot of brunch in a rather splendid posh local place. An old coaching inn which has been transformed in recent years into a top notch hotel with fine dining and plenty of ambiance. 

Behind the rather grand facade of the hotel lies a rather beautiful rustic courtyard which totally captured my heart. Fabric bunting strung across, casual wooden furniture and lots of vibrant geraniums, it was a little slice of heaven I thought. Perfect for sitting with a mighty fine cappuccino and allowing my  divine "eggs benedict" to settle. I didn't want to leave.

That sweet little Sunday morning courtyard really stuck in my memory, I'm glad I had my camera with me to capture a little of it's atmosphere. It's exactly how I like to think my own small outdoor space should look. Kind of pretty and casual and rustic and homely.

This is a snap of my July back yard. I took the above picture by standing very precariously on my bedroom windowsill and holding the camera out of the top opening window. Since I took this photo a few weeks ago, the geraniums in my wall top pots have really started to flower their hearts out, it's quite lovely if I say so myself. I feel quite proud of it. And I love my windowsill too, I love that our house is made out of old, old stone.

I have a rather amazing hanging basket next to the kitchen door in my back yard, it's chocka block full of my favourite colours. It was given to me as a surprise gift actually, and my goodness, it totally delivers a bolt of pleasure on a daily basis.  I even remember to water it daily and religiously deadhead the flowers, it's very well treated I can tell you.

I wasn't actually around to take my usual first-day-of-the-month photo of the Attic view, but I took a few pics when I remembered on 12th July.

Yes, now I think about it we did have a bit of a cruddy cold, wet spell near the beginning of the month but like I said earlier, July has mostly been bright and beautiful I think.

Something else I did earlier this month was to participate in a fund raising event at a local school. I was asked if I could provide a few hand made items for the craft stall and I was happy to give it a go as I knew I'd be in very good company. One of the things I love  about where I live is the growing number of friendships I have which are connected by The Yarn Thing. Other people who lead a creative life and share similar passions and excitements to my own. Its marrrrrvelous to have those connections with friends, it really is. I like nothing better than a get together over a coffee/glass of vino (depending on the friend in question and the time of day) and a natter about arty-crafty-yarny-handmade type of things.

And if those particular friends happen to live just two streets away, well then, it's all very handy and supportive and creative and jolly! I watched some of the above knitted cupcakes take shape each week at the pub you know (yes, we frequent the local pub on a Monday night to do hooky and knitty things, my friends and I). Aren't they totally scrummy?

These beautiful appliqued and embroidered cushions are made by another friend....I adore them, and you may remember me bringing one home to number 24 last year? I'm the proud owner of a round birdy cushion with colourful felty triangles (scroll down this post and you'll see it second pic from the end...cor isn't it weeeeeird looking at frosty winter pics in high summer???!!!) Anyhow...yes, these cushions are a complete joy to behold, they really are.

The same clever-pants lady who knitted the cupcakes is also a hugely talented stitcher. Her work is un-be-leivable. She makes the most gorgeous patchwork and applique cushions with a homespun, folk-art feel to them. They are true works of art, just lookeee at this.................

...........yay, chickies have landed in the Attic! How could I resist??? I just had to have one of these beautiful cushions for my very own, just had to. The Wanties hit hard.

There's an insane amount of hand stitching going on here, such a labour or love. You can tell this is made by a lady who completely lurrrrrrrrrrves to sit and stitch can't you?! Gorgeous.

So my contribution to the abundant craft stall was rather thin on the ground I have to confess. I simply didn't have the available time to make all that I wanted to make as my daylight hours are mostly filled by a demanding Little B shaped object. I managed to make seven little crocheted and stuffed keyring fobs (pretty colours don't you think?).......

..........and three little rabbits. Ahhh I did LOVE making these rabbits! Two of them hopped off to find new homes, and one remains here in the Attic with me.

The pattern came from Kate's blog Greedy for Colour, of which I am an adoring fan. I love Kate's  work. I practically begged her on bended knees to write up her pattern for these bunnies when I saw her making them last year. And being the kind and obliging soul she is, she did just that. Isn't she a gem? You can find her Flora Rabbit tutorial here look.

Well now.........I think I need to finish up, it's quite late and I've just realised I'm sat alone in the dark whilst the other four-fifths of the family are tucked up in bed. We are in full school holiday mode this week, taking it leisurely day by day with no plans to speak of. Lots of mess, lots of time lounging in pj's, slap dash meals eaten as and when. Mid morning breakfasts. Lots of hooky time too as I'm getting a welcome amount of help entertaining Little B (free child labour, oh how I love school holidays). I've got a huge amount still to share with you and something wonderful and new on the hook already this week. More soon.

Toodle-oo for now!

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Edited to add :: ahhhh fear-ye-not, Snakey-chops is still in residence here! He was on the craft stall purely to serve as colourful eyecandy, although I could have sold him I'm sure, he got loads of attention! Did you also spot my granny buting hanging on the front of the gazebo? Will have to show you that sometime as I realised just now that it never received it's Ta-dah moment. Thanks for all your lovely comments today! ♥

 

 

 

 

 

June 2011

8.38pm and I just this minute legged it up two flights of stairs to go take in the evening light. GORgeous, isn't it just?? My June view is looking lush and green and typically mid-summer after rather a lot of mixed up sunshine-and-rain this month. We've had a lot of wet weather of late. Oodles of it. But today has been bright and golden and gorgeous and I've loved feeling the heat of the sun on my face as I went about my day.

My June calendar has a lot of scribbles on it. Mixed up dates (I keep getting things ludicrously wrong), cancelled appointments and re-scheduled visits, forgotten birthdays. But here we are almost at the end of the month and it's not been so bad really. We've muddled and we've scribbled and we're nearly through. Tweet-tweet-tweet, aren't those little fabric June birds sweet?

My Ideal Home calendar hangs by my desk and I find the images so restful and calming, such a pleasure to gaze at day after day. I look at that picture and I think to myself, oh yes, I remember our last house where we had an expanse of lawn dandelion infested grass, and how lovely it was to set the table for an al fresco Summer meal, to sit and eat whilst feeling the cool twiddle of grass between bare toes. I don't have a lawn any more to twiddle my toes in, but neither do I have to hold heated debates with J over who's turn it is to get the lawn mower out.

 

No lawn then, but oh I am enjoying my weeny walled back yard this year! My pots are looking fuller by the day, the wet weather has certainly been good for growth. I'd still like to have a lot more greenery out here (I'm fancying some big oversized tubs to grow small trees and bushy-leafy things), but for now it does very nicely. Morning coffee, a quick lunch, a glass of something chilled in the late afternoon, I'm really enjoying my time spent out here.

That funny old wall with it's chipped render and green mould has really grown on me this year. I was all for painting it and sprucing it up last year, but am glad now that I left it be.

I've got lots of geraniums on the go at the moment, a mixture of upright ones and trailing ones. The above flower has just bloomed for the first time this week (it's one of the trailers sitting in a pot on top of the wall), and oh my the colour is magnificent.

My sweet peas are a bit slow/late in getting going but that's ok. I'm really looking forward to them, I bought some old fashioned variety that supposedly has amazing scent.

This little blue bench thingy sits right outside my kitchen door and brings me a lot of pleasure I have to say. I've got mint, chives and flat leafed parsley growing here, and I absolutely love love love stepping out with a pair of scissors to snippety-snip a little something to go in the cooking. Today I made sweet potato and smoked mackerel fishcakes, with fresh parsley from right there. They were yum. I had to chuckle to myself, nipping to my desk, firing up my laptop and Googling "Attic24 Fishcakes" in order to find and recall my own recipe. Bloody marvelous thing this blogging you know.

In the sunny part of my back yard I've got thyme and rosemary growing, lovely little snips to go with garlic roasted veggies. I'm trying to eat as healthily as I can at the moment, trying to resist the (alarmingly powerful) urge to combat stress by comfort eating all manner of sickly sweet but hugely desirable foodstuffs. It's working to a point. I'm eating an awful lot of fruit. I really wanted to show you the amazing ripe cherries I bought from the market at the weekend (deep red glossy fruits in a beautiful blue-glazed mexican dish, a fantastic photo opportunity), but by the time I got my camera I realised that I'd eaten nearly all of them. There was rather more mexican bowl than fruit. Only six cherries left actually.

I've been keeping very busy this past week or so, busy doing the things that need doing around here. Taking pleasure in piling, hanging, pegging, un-pegging, folding and re-piling. And sniffing of course. Lots of laundry inhaling been going on, it calms my soul to inhale the scent of sun-dried and freshly laundered cotton articles.

Mid summer, and I dug out my snuggly winter socks last week.  My feet have been feeling cold, especially in the early mornings. And when I say early I really do mean it :: Little B is waking up his bouncy little body shortly before five ay-em most mornings. I went through a spell last week of really wholeheartedly resenting this fact, my-my but I was getting my knickers in a twist over these enforced early starts. Not so this week. I'm taking a different approach this week and am embracing the 4.45am starts, bringing Little B downstairs for some lovely sofa snuggle/playtime before the rest of the family awakes. The ripple blanket has been such a comfort on these mornings, I love it's instant warmth and cosiness, it's quite the perfect blanket to have hanging around the place.

One of the things that has not been happening much in recently weeks is The Tidying. Quite frankly, I simply cannot be bothered to do it at the moment, it's such a thankless task. When I stopped to think about how many times each day I was putting Little B's toys back in that basket there it was mind boggling. I seemed to be continuously stooped over tidying things up, only to find them slung back on the floor minutes later. So now I just leave it, and hope no one trips over and breaks any bones. The upside to this messy existence is that when Little B begins his toddling day at 4.45am, his toys are all ready and waiting for him right where he left them. What a Marvelous Mummy I am!!

Little Man is an early riser too, not quite in Little B's league, but usually around 6am or so. This morning he decided to bake and ice a batch of buns before breakfast. Uh-huh, before breakfast. I don't know if this is freaky-abnormal for an eight year old boy, but I don't much care, I love that it happens. Very much so.

It's been such a long time since any hooky business appeared here in the Attic, and for that I really am sorry. I have been hooking away quietly in the background, but haven't managed to find time to share all that I've been doing. Right now in my bag is a lovely stash of bamboo/cotton yarn and a few little animals. I'm making some crochet toys to sell at a summer fayre in a few weeks time, but so far the sum of my efforts amounts to two finished rabbits plus the head (minus ears) of a third so I'm not doing very well really. I promise I'll share more yarn and pattern details when I can find time to photograph and write, but at the moment I really do need to crack on with the actual making part.

Ahhhhhhhh my cherished Attic View (again)...see how green the hill looks now compared to the beginning of May!! Beautiful. And on that happy note I'm going to have to love you and leave you as my bed is a calling. It's not quite dark yet, but it is 10:10pm and waaaay past my bedtime.

Can I just say before I go that I am tremendously grateful for all the wonderful words and positive thoughts that you've sent my way about my Mum. I really, truly appreciate it. She's doing ok, we are doing ok. One day at a time and all that.

Lots of love....be back soon!

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From April into May

Hello my sweet people, so good to be here! I said to J this morning (in my best don't-mess-with-me voice) that I simply had to steal a patch of time away in the Attic to catch my breath and reconnect with my bloglett. I declared it to be Absolutely Essential, and he had the good grace to understand so here I am. I try not to let it get me down but my goodness I do MISS my bloggin time! I feel the days and weeks slip-sliding through my fingers and the precious memories fading and getting lost and forgotten in the hubbub of busy family life and I begin to feel a kind of mild panic creep in. There is always so much that I want/need to record and remember and preserve for the future, all the little itty-bits of life that make me happy/glad/inspired/thankful. So today I'm going to attempt a very quick catch-up through the past few weeks.....jeez it's been quite crazy around here, although I must stress that it's been an extremely good kind of crazy.

Back we go then, back into the tail end of last month......as most of you know, on Friday 29th April we celebrated a Royal Wedding in the UK. Here in Attic Town it was all looking very jolly indeed with many streets decked out with bunting and flags. Two weeks on and they are still in place, which has pleased me no end! It's been especially nice to hear the sound of a town in celebration :: due to very high winds the flags have been flapping with gusto and it's a sound I really adore. I think some long forgotten childhood memories are tied up with the sound of bunting flapping in the breeze, it makes me feel like skipping when I hear it (I restrained myself in the town centre last week, think a skipping forty two year old would have caused a stir).

Friday 29th April also happened to be a Birthday Day too, as Little Lady became a Seven year old. We celebrated by allowing her to choose the days activities (a family picnic at Bolton Abbey followed by an exhausting stint at a local soft play centre), and so in a way the events of the Royal Wedding kind of passed us by that day. Our Little Lady turning seven was more important, and I think she had a memorable day.

The day after the Royal Wedding and Little Lady's Birthday was the start of our UK "May Day" holiday weekend. This weekend is also the time for our towns annual Waterways festival, which I've come to really look forward to each year. It's a magical time, with lots of extra visitors flocking in to enjoy the festivities. You walk around and feel the party atmosphere in the air. Music plays, people dress up and dance, flags fly, flowers bloom, boats sail in and out and it's all very colourful and happy and upbeat.

I took a few snaps as I was out and about that day, the cheeriness of the dressed-up boats was so lovely!

All the pretty decorative details gave me a huge rush of inspiration actually. Made me determined to plan some prettifying of  my own little back yard space which was sadly neglected last year due to a small baby-shaped somebody who took up all my time and energy.

Ahhhh the delights of coloured bunting flags, such wonderful feel-good eye candy!

So that was April, wwheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee, it went so fast! It was a fabulous month, we had amazing weather, a wonderful holiday by the sea, lots of picnics and outdoor jaunts, and Little B took to his feet. Bliss. I also did a lot of hooky in April....I've not had the time to show you much of what I've been up to lately, but I've been having loooads of fun with my hook. Loads I tell ya! I've been working on various decorative bits and bobs, and ooo it's been making me so happy! I don't mean to tease you, I promise faithfully that all WILL be revealed very very soon. I am really looking forward to sharing it with you. But first things first...you'll be getting a dose of Dorset next week before the hooky comes along, if that's OK with you?

May is officially my Most Favouritist Month of the Year. I just squeeeee with excitement when I turn over the pages of my calendars and view May. For me, it's a month of pure happiness....the greening up of the countryside, bluebells, fresh English Asparagus and the first English Strawberries, a month of picnics and time spent outdoors, long light days and warm sunshine.

Hmmmm...not sure why exactly there is a simnel cake on the May calendar page?? I always thought simnel cakes were for Easter, but no matter.....I'm thinking it's an age since I baked a full cake, the kind that can sit proudly on a cake stand and be sliced into with some ceremony. So I think I shall make-it-so in May. I can see a carrot cake in my very near future, oohh I'm smacking my lips at the very thought of it!

We are now two weeks into May and the weather here in my patch has been extraordinary. We had some terrific sunshine early on in the month, the sky was the bluest blue and for a week or so it forgot how to make clouds. There were no clouds for days on end.

But it's been windy, my goodness, even though the sun shone it's little heart out the wind was something else. We've eaten out a lot already this month (picnics-r-us) and our trusty windbreak has seen some hammer. The above photo was taken on the first day of May, we were up in the Dales picnicking beside the river at Hubberholme....

....lots of watery fun for the Little People and hunkering down beneath the windbreak for us Big People.

What else....oh yes, I enjoyed my annual visit to my favourite plant nursery and filled the boot of the car with lots of colourful floral goodness for my back yard. I managed to plant up most of my big pots before a very heavy storm rolled in and stopped play. It was quite spectacular  with great flashes of lightening, rolling thunder and huge ploppy rain drops, and although I fretted over the safety of my newly planted little plantlets, at least I was saved the job of watering them all in.

I've not had chance to take many pics of outside yet, but I'll try and show you my progress on prettifying my back yard. I've got plans you see. For decorative things out there. It's coming on a treat.

Now before I go sink a mug of fresh coffee, let me show you the first-day-of-May view from the Attic window..........

.......it was a glorious, glorious late spring/early summer's day. Blue, blue sky (no clouds) and a magical kind of glowy happy brightness of light. Sigh. I adore this time of year. So much.

♥ see you again soon, I'll be bringing you sea breezes and coastal tales before they fade from my memory xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Outdoorsy Sunday

We are being blessed with the most gorgeously glorious weather here at the moment, it really is quite something. I wouldn't say that Spring has arrived yet as it is still terribly cold, but during the past week or so the sky has been oh-so-blue and the sun has been shining it's little heart out, and I've been loving it. Love-love-loving it!

Yesterday (Sunday) we awoke to a frosty, crisp late winters morning, with the aforementioned oh-so-blue sky and sunshine, and we decided to venture out and do Outdoorsy Stuff. It was nothing short of a miracle actually :: all five of us breakfasted, dressed, washed (well three-fifths of the family was washed, the Little People are exceedingly good at avoiding the bathroom these days, the dirty/lazy little tykes) and out the door by nine thirty. Yes, you read that right, Nine Thirty! And on a Sunday too!! Are you impressed?? Cos I most certainly was.

Destination :: Bolton Abbey. Of course. It's our number one choice when we want nearby Easy Countryside, and if you've been reading my blog for a while, you'll have heard me go on about Bolton Abbey on many occasions. Here, here and here for example, and lots of other times besides I expect. We don't ever tire of it here.

This was the first time we've been here with Little B though, so it felt kind of special. Just before Little B arrived, we acquired a very good all-terrain sooper-dooper three wheeler pushchair with sooper-dooper pumped up tyres. It came third-hand from my neighbour for a sooper-dooper good price, and it's errrmmmm.....well Sooper-dooper actually! Yesterday was it's first outing to an all-terrain type of environment and it was brilliant. We went happily up and down all sorts of steep woodland tracks, bumpity bumped up and down steps and ancient bits of tumbled down old Abbey, crossed fields and jiggety-jigged over cattle grates. Little B slept soundly the whole way, which was rather Sooper-dooper too.

It really was a most beautiful morning and it felt reeeeeally good to be out in it, walking in it, looking up at the sky (oh-so-blue) and feeling part of the Outdoorsy World again. I've missed it somewhat.

When we eventually came home (via the cafe for cappuccino and carrot cake and milk tankering activities), I found that I did not want to come inside. I really didn't. Wanted to stay Outside and wanted to continue to do Outdoorsy stuff and wanted to stay under the oh-so-blue sky for as long as possible. So I decided on the spur of the moment to go and buy some flowers and do some lighthearted gardening. A suitably Outdoorsy Sunday activity I thought, and pretty too.

So I bobbed down to my local supermarket and loaded my trolley up with Pretties to bring home. Little pots of narcissi and primulas. Oh so pretty-pretty! I swooned a little when I unloaded them from the back of my car, I just adore buying flowery plantlets en-masse like this, one of life's tremendous pleasures (remember the PPP's from last year?)

The mission :: to prettify my (very sad) hanging baskets at the front of the house.

It turned out to be a lovely thing to do cos Little Lady decided to join me. I swooned a little more at her excited request to help me out and it suddenly seemed an age since we did anything like this together.

We enjoyed ourselves. A lot. I loved that in her excitement she called me Mummy all the time, when usually these days she calls me a more grown up Mum.

Above pics show the Before and After. I let Little Lady do as much of the planting as possible, even though it meant that the end results are a little erm..what shall we say? Unbalanced perhaps? I promise you I'm not a control freak, but ooohh so so hard not to interfere in these matters! I just about managed it. But I might possibly have to fill in the empty gaps with a few more flowers. Just so, you know, so it looks centred and not all-over-to-the-left.

But anyhow, it's certainly a definite improvement on what was there before which was basically a collection of moss and Dead Summer Things.

Yes, a beautiful improvement I think.

Even if it is off centre.

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Autumn flowers

Yesterday afternoon I was late for the school run. My usual 3pm amble along the canal side turned literally into a run as I attempted to condense the 12 minute journey into 7 minutes. I ended up arriving at the school gates just as the first children were coming out so I wasn't technically unforgivably late, but I was very red in the face and knackered, and felt bad all the same.
And the reason for my lateness?? Violas that's what.

To be more specific, Viola Magnifico, the most delightful, cheery little five petalled flowers that ever existed. Just look at that prettiness, that cuteness, the sheer downright cheekiness of that little flower face! It had me so enraptured I lost track of time.

Yes, yesterday afternoon saw me doing a spot of gardening, and thoroughly enjoyable it was too. Nothing too arduous you understand, just a little pottering around in the afternoon sunshine, playing with flowers and moss and compost.

I decided that the time had finally come to tackle the Hanging Baskets at the front of the house. They were a total, utter disgrace. Put it this way :: if J comments on how bad something looks (and he has a reputation for never noticing anything gardeny), then I know they are really, really bad. They were bad when we moved in to the Attic24 house last winter. I distinctly remember noticing them when we viewed the house, thinking how uncared for they looked. And then when we bought the house and they became my hanging baskets, I had all sorts of plans to pretty them up. But typical of me, it only ever got so far as the planning stage. I failed to plant them in the spring with the intended pretty bulbs and then failed again in the summer to fill them with colourful summer annuals.

So during the past few days when I've been shopping, I've accompanied my fruit and veg buying with pots of pretty violas, cyclamen and ivy. I already had the moss and compost,  purchased in the Spring when Good Intentions were rife.
I'm almost too embarrassed to show you the baskets that have been adorning house number 24 for the past 10 months.
Please don't think bad of me if I show you?
Ok, here goes ::

Well what can I say, except that they were the work of the previous house owner.
And I should never have left them hanging there looking so forlorn and sad for so long.
And now I fully intend to have seasonal hanging baskets to be proud of.

Wanna see how it turned out?

 

Quite cute eh?

And this poor, sad, neglected wall basket with a few straggly nasturtiums in it, looked over by White Bird....

....now prettied for Autumn.

And this is the third basket hanging right at eye level next to the front door. This morning I really enjoyed the surprise of seeing it when I stepped out, as I had temporarily forgotten my gardening efforts of yesterday. My memory is seriously shot through I tell you.

I just love those violas so much.
Love 'em to bits.

ps. before I forget to mention :: I LOVED all the shopping trolley opinions yesterday, oh I really loved reading  your comments so very very much. Thank you for taking the time and effort to let me know your thoughts. Seems the opinion is overwhelmingly in favour, so  I could soon be TRoLLiEd, I'll keep you posted!
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Back Yard

Hello! So glad you made it, yes awful weather isn't it? Hope you didn't get too wet on your way over?
Up in the rooftops of Attic24 the rain is thundering down this morning, its' very noisy indeed so no doubt about the weather from where I'm sitting, I don't even have to look. I can hear the weather. Hear that it's not very summery at all. But just to clarify, look ::  this is the view from the velux window which looks out over the back. Dismal.

Yes, such a shame. I really did want to show you my little back yard,  I had envisaged my outside table laid with a pretty cloth, tea and cake in the sun. A warm, summery chit-chat about flowers. I really wanted to share my outdoorsy ideas, run them by you.Oh well, we'll manage somehow, best not get too down hearted eh. Ok, lets raid the photo archives....

....This above photo was taken last month whilst I was still flapping and procrastinating and not getting very much done. Its not a terribly good photo I'm afraid, I think the settings on my camera were a bit off and it looks a bit washed out doesn't it? But no matter, you can get the gist of it. You can see my yard is small, I think you could call it compact, or perhaps if you were being very generous you could say it was bijou.
Its in an L shape, the main square of it you can see here is 3m x 3m, with an additional 2mx2m off to the side under the kitchen window.

And this photo was taken on a lovely sunny day a few eeks ago, not long after I spent those backbreaking hours shifting, carrying, potting, sweating, planting. I shifted my blue plant benches around, moved the table, tried to create a pleasant space for eating. It's not easy working in such a confined area, but I love our little space all the same. Its manageable, do-able, even for a lazy arse like myself.

We live in a middle terrace of tall Victorian houses, so we are literally surrounded on all sides by houses. We are extremely overlooked, most especially at the back, and it has taken some getting used to in the seven months that we have lived here. Our last house was a detached modern house on a corner plot, so we had quite a sizeable garden, surrounded on all sides by either tall hedges or fences. Privacy was important there, most people craved it, built boundries up around themselves and isolated themselves in their back gardens. Here it is very different. Folk like to see other folk, like to lean on walls and chat, like to pass by and see what's doing . Kids play in and out of each others yards, up and down the streets, grown-ups take a brew out and chatter, gossip, pass the time of day. Its very friendly and I do like it for the most part, but sometimes I do crave a green view and space.

The photo above was taken yesterday afternoon just after it had stopped raining. See the wall there to the right? I've put some pots and troughs along for now to help the yard feel a bit more enclosed, but I'm hoping my lovely father in law will come with his wood and scary tools and build me a short fence along. Nothing too scary or high, just a dinky little picket fence that I'm thinking would look nice painted a sort of a tasteful  grey-blue. J is Yorkshire born and bred and he tells me it's perceived as "unfriendly" if you fence yourself off. And I tell him I do not like to sit and eat my dinner with half the neighbourhood watching me. As a result, we find ourselves having a mild, on-going disagreement about it. To fence or not to fence? Privacy v Community? Northern ways v Southern ways.

But aside from the privacy issues, I have this idea for plants :: ok, lets see if I can describe my vision to you. Imagine a narrow, L-shaped raised bed built the whole way along the right hand wall and also along the back wall. It would be about 2 ft high, built out of stone or maybe timber, high enough and wide enough so you could perch your bottom on it if you wanted. Imagine the planting this could contain :: ivy, climbing hydrangea, honeysuckle, clematis, ceanothis, passion flowers. It would create a year-round wall of living green. It would be under planted with bulbs and other smaller plants. Annuals could be sneaked in for the summer to add colour. But for climbers to work on the right hand wall, they really need to be able to climb, higher than the present wall allows, don't you agree? Well I shall let you know how the debate goes.

I like a garden to be decorative, don't you? I like to see little decorative bits and pieces in a garden. Pretty pots, mobiles, painted birdhouses, mosaic. That book I showed you the other day has some wonderful, wonderful ideas, it's brimming over with inspiration. I visited Barcelona last Autumn and ooooo the Gaudi mosaics in the Parc Guell are truly amazing :: I would love to try mosaic for my outdoor space, maybe a wall panel or even some big pots? Actually, I've booked to go on a half-day workshop in September which is all about recycling broken crockery and china to make mosaic so I'm going to collect plates this summer from jumble sales, car boots and charity shops with this in mind.What fun!!

This is my geranium and herb bench. I use mint and parsley a lot and love to have these just outside my  back door.

Ahhhhh geraniums, geraniums, you make my heart sing! I think they're one of my favourite flowers, the colour, oh!! YEs, the colour is magnificent. I've put these beauties right outside my back door so that I'm hit with it as soon as I venture out. Bam! Magenta and cerise in your face!

I did have fun planting up my big pots. They are still establishing themselves, and the trailing geraniums have not yet flowered but I think in a month or so they'll look lovely. I've even noticed one brave sweet pea flower has emerged, so am hopeful for a good show there too in a while. Thats if the sun ever decides to shine again.

Well, it has stopped raining now, but everything is still dripping wet outside. Shall we have tea and biscuits inside, I baked some raisin and peanut cookies yesterday and the locust-children didn't eat them all. Still some left for you and me.

Oh, yes it's been lovely to have your company, thanks so much for coming, I do enjoy a good natter with friends. There's nothing nicer than that, rain or shine.