Rain changed play

 A quick visit to our favourite garden centre to look at spring bulbs, less variety this year, I could not resist these tulips, China Town with 7 bulbs, aren't they pretty. I have placed an online order for some other bulbs, I have been looking for different varieties. The cyclamen hubby choose, he liked the colours.

I've started my new season pots, earlier this year I moved loads of bulbs around the garden, with the knowledge I would need to purchase more for pots. I already had one cyclamen plant its very similar to the new plant, the crocus bulbs are around the plants, this is by my patio doors, the summer pot is now back in my greenhouse. 

I needed some long plastic covered metal poles for a small change around in my raspberry bed, I was really chuffed to find what I required both sizes half price all are over two meters tall. Saved just over £10 on these.

I have been busy with my sewing machine, all the hems have been stitched on Will's school trousers, the hems always fail, so I stitch the new ones and avoid the issue. I also had the blanket from our neighbours son, he is a Boy Scout, and loves his blanket, he has collected more badges from his travels, another quick task.

This book was clever, it started with 3 women's stories, building to how they link together with a good twist, how revenge turns into helping another, I loved the plot. Book 64 read this year.

We are finally having the rain the garden requires, good steady rain, we have had some rain for the last 5 days, 3 days heavy, it has stopped us going outside, I don't have much to do, I have been forming a couple small plans, which include using the poles shown above, once the raspberries have finished I want to move the blueberries in the big tub and redo the structure for the raspberries to grow up. I have removed the nets from inside the greenhouse, so the light can get in and for the first time in months I have shut the door, I have an automatic window opener, so it should be OK. 

Being inside I am getting jobs done, only little things, bits I have ignored whilst being outside in the glorious sunshine. We have finished watching Destination X and loved it, neither of us like Josh, so we were happy he had his perceived victory snatched away from him, I have also been watching Fortune Hotel, I did not watch the first series, and I'm still unsure about it, hubby did not enjoy it at all. We both love Sewing Bee, again there are some talented people, we refuse to watch Masterchef, I have never liked Greg Wallace, but liked John Torode and felt uncomfortable with how he was treated. Soon it will be Bake off and Strickly, I'm watching The Inheritance with Rob Rinder, new on channel 4, I do like him and of course Traitors, Ireland and celebrities.

More of the same

I have 2 huge pots of tulips in the garden, the pots are used for tomato plants, but have a secondary roll at this time of year for tulips, which won't grow in our clay soil. They are just coming into bloom, there is a good mixture of types and colours here.

These raspberries have been dug up from around the garden, they pop up in places where I don't want them, they are going to George's school, for their new garden.

This box of plants are all created by myself from cuttings and roots, as Northsider Dave would call them plants for free, I'm not as clever as he is, he makes and sells loads. I'm happy with these they will help fill gaps, any spare I will pass on.

Wednesday night George had a sleepover here, mummy wanted to take Will to the cinema on Thursday, so we made it easier for daughter, she took Molly to preschool and had a day with Will. George does not get up as early as Molly and he plays well, he's does chatter but not as much as Molly.

Friday hubby cooked our first BBQ of the year, daughter came with her three, George and Molly had their swimming lesson earlier, we ate at 3.30pm, and stayed outside for a couple of hours. A truly happy family time, George wanted to be in this photo.

Friday morning we had the brakes on our car checked, and replaced, expensive but I won't complain, our car has cost us almost nothing since we got it new. Later we had the family BBQ, afterwards we were both tired and spent the evening watching TV, we have started watching Clarkson Farm, which for me is surprising, as I really disliked Jeremy Clarkson in Top Gear. We have watched 5 episodes and I am enjoying it, he has not changed, still head strong, but he does bring to main media the struggles of modern farming, watching him with his ewes and lambing, showed a much nicer side to him.

Saturday I spent part of the day at daughters house, I should have been doing gardening, I was tired so I spent time watching George and Molly play outside, it was a noisy gentle time. Later back at home hubby and I plan another quiet evening and early night.

All our time is spent outside when it's so warm and sunny, I have purchased 5 round grow bags, 3 for vegetables and 2 for flowers which I can cut and use inside, I have loved having fresh tulips in our sitting room. I hope to have them sorted in the next few weeks, my flower seedings are doing well,  I have been regularly watering my pots, I'm hoping the promised rain arrives, the garden and my water buts need it.

Sheltering from Óewyn

 My sweet peas have shoots, not all of them, I will leave these for a couple more days before planting in long root pots. The clear plastic takeaway container with damp kitchen roll has worked as a good propagator. 

I do love this author, another great plot, once he starts looking for the missing members of the family, another case is offered to him, with help he works both cases. As with most of his plots, information is gained through the story, until a really good ending. Book 7 read this year.

Another new author for me, this is a brilliant book on so many levels, it twist as more of the story is told, very clever, hard to put down, told in a simple but effective way. Book 8 read this year.

This is the last catch up book in the series, it fills in any gaps for me, it still was a great book to read, each book is a stand alone story, another twisting book, it is such a good plot, and I can forgive when he has 'lucky' finds which the police miss, another missing person who leads him to more crimes. Book 9 read this month.

We are warm and snug inside, ready to sit out whatever Óewyn dishes out, we are under a yellow wind warning, the eye of the storm is in the north, once again we should miss out on the worse of the weather. It's very windy here, our little space is OK, no damage, just hope everyone else is as lucky. We popped to our local Lidl yesterday and got what few things we needed to last until Monday, we have no plans for the weekend, I did get another amaryllis bulb, reduced, it's already potted up.

We are both enjoying Traitors, we don't normally watch reality TV, no details or spoilers, just in case anyone is behind, we are both looking forward to the final tonight. We missed series 1, so I think I will watch it on catch-up. 

When we last visited hubbies younger sister, she had fans on her radiators, which helped warm her cold house, we have had issues in our spare bedroom, black mould has started to form, it's a cold room on the corner of the house where the weather hits, we have been using a radiator fan and it's making the room much warmer and has kept the mould away. We got a second fan for the radiator in the dining end of our room, the room now is much warmer where we need the heat, we have high ceilings which has never helped, the fans do make a noise, but it not too loud, they run on electricity so there is a small cost. We won't get anymore, we both like a cold bedroom, our office is very warm, why are so many radiators under windows, where the heat rises and hits the cooler glass. 

What are you doing?

 I saw it far too late, after a row of 12 squares and 3 grey squares of the next row, I noticed for some strange reason I used the wrong shade of pink, pale instead of rose, it did not look out of place, my brother would never notice, but I knew it was wrong. So 15 squares ripped out and rose pink used, I'm happy again.

This is Lilly, she is beautiful, I love grey cats, so she is perfect, daughter took kittens and mum cat to vets for a check up, all are OK. She is the smallest of the litter, which is OK. I had my first cuddle, which I hope to regularly do, so she gets used to us, daughter has one on our cat baskets, so when we we bring her home she will already be happy in her basket. Daughter has found homes for all five kittens, everyone is sharing the vet cost, to help out. 

I missed Wolf Hall the first time round, I watched the first episode of the second series on Sunday evening, it was so good, I decided to go back and watch the 6 episodes from series 1. I am watching every day, something I never do, it's made so well, even though I know what happens,  I can't wait for the next episode on Sunday. 

Our Spanish friends are OK, their small town is almost back to normal, the lower section was flooded, most of the homes there have garages on the ground floor, so not too much damage was done. Other friend in Valencia have a much harder task, the mud stuck to everything, once that is cleared they need an architect to check their homes, Spanish house bricks are very different to ours, they are hollow and much lighter, so many building now need checking. There is so much anger in the city, the centre, which was not hit so bad looks back to normal, main roads are open, but still many places need lots of work.

Hubby had his cataract removed and a lens put in place on Monday, a very different process than he had a few years ago, our eye hospital is away from the main hospital, it's very modern and very efficient. Hubby saw the optician only 3 weeks ago, and it's all been sorted, last time he had a few months to wait, this new unit has completely cut waiting times. Sadly his brother in Wales is getting near the end of a two year wait, he is still in hospital, due another operation on his leg, this time the hope is to have him home soon, he's been stuck in there for months. 

My back is much better, I've been doing small bits most days, I picked up leaves in the back garden on Monday, and a bit of weeding. I need to raise my netting over my broad beans, the shoots are getting big. We have had rain twice both times overnight, and lovely blue skies next morning, it is getting colder, which does not bother me.

Up and down

 On Saturday our village had its gala at the castle, it was postponed from a very wet weekend in June. Sadly in the past few years they dropped the parade, just too much hassle to get roads shut and the insurance got just too much.

Our local police force was present again, always a police car where children can sit inside, a female officer showed Will how to turn on the blue lights, he also like loads of other children got his fingerprints taken, which he really loved.

Both Molly and George loved this bouncing ride, Molly is fearless and managed on her own, only needing help to get higher. George was a bit too light and needed loads of help, we were unsure if George would be allowed on, the man running it was happy for him to try and agreed he loved it.

They had a couple goes on this swing ride, both loving it, neither worried as it got faster, sitting together helped they were laughing together.

Saturday was overcast and dry, with a welcome breeze, perfect for a day outside, we spent the morning out and the afternoon in our garden. Our gala is becoming more commercial,  two small fairgrounds, one for younger children and the second with adult rides, both outside the castle grounds. Still a lovely family day.

Later at our daughters we had a Chinese takeaway shared with Will, the little ones had their meal earlier and we bathed them and put them to bed. We slept over, which was good because daughters cat took ill, we were worried it looked as if he had gone blind, daughter sat with him, at 2am he took worse and I drove her to an emergency vet, sadly Minty (always loved his name), had little options, and at 15 he was put to sleep. Neither daughter or I got much sleep, Sunday we brought George  and Molly back to ours until early afternoon so daughter could sleep, we rested later. What more can life throw at our daughter.

We started watching men's final tennis, and yes BBC played their stupid games, we watched the first very tight set, with one switch of Channel and then they decided not to show the second set, gymnastics and shooting with british interest instead, again so frustrating, why do they only have 2 stations, BBC1 and one one iPlayer. Later after giving the results of the match, they announced we could watch the second set on iPlayer, really, that's not how it should work.

Just waiting

My sister found this frog, she got a set of three, one blue, one red, which are her favourite colours and this green one, which I love. I had thought to place it near my wildlife pond, but it's too nice to be tucked at the bottom of the garden.

I've just finished this book, it was recommended to me, set back in early 1900's, not a period I normally read about, it was fun, clever idea, the staff old and current pay back the lady of the house, daughter to deceased man, who had ties in a more lowly part of London. I'm not sure if I would read another book by the author. Book 32 read this year. 

 My greenhouse is still full, lots of bedding plants, almost ready to go out, along with herbs and some leeks. I have plants on the mini greenhouse frame, it's still working hard, even without the plastic cover it's a useful space. There are two tubs with 4 cauliflower plants in, these will go into the raised bed once the broad beans are finished, and a tub with a horseradish plant. My sphagnum moss stays in here on the big plant pot saucer. 

I have 2 tubs of carrots I would like to be outside, but neither have holes in the bottom, so with all the rain they stay inside, I also have 2 tomato plants, the green tub has broad bean husk in, my composter is full for now. There are plants which need to go out, again the rain is stopping me moving things. Along the back are my succulents and cacti, it's a permanent feature in here. 

It's been a nothing few days, home together, out in my garden when I can, reading when it's wet, the evenings have been cooler again, time watching TV.  We both loved Race around the World, which ended last night, the producers choose interesting people, opinions made at the start change as we get to know them, everyone running to the same goal, brilliant TV. Sewing bee is back on, I'm not inspired with the sewers so far, hubby over the years has always watched with me, he now loves it as much as me, I'm hoping after a couple of eliminations, we can see past the ego's, and enjoy their journey. 

Dry weekend

Saturday was a lovely day, blue skies and warm for this time of year, we both went out into the garden, it's our first coffee moment of the year in our new garden, only the small chairs out for just as long as we needed them. Both cats followed us outside, they love being outside, wandering around checking up all the details.

Hubby was on maintenance duty, he painted this half wall along the side bed, much easier when the plants are not in growth. My edging looks good, it's a bit high this end, I will need to sort it, I do have a piece to pop along the short end. Loads of bulbs coming through and very pleasing not to see any of the wild garlic, I'm sure there are still some left. 

The trays in the small plastic greenhouse are done, there are eight in here, I used left over top soil from the garden, it's lovely and fine and should work well. I'm not thinking about sowing for a few more weeks, when the soil should be warm enough to aid germination. These trays are for now shut inside for extra warmth. 

I have one tray of longer seed holders, these are for my runner beans and a few leeks, there is also four of the smaller seed trays in these two bigger trays. These are on the lower section of my staging, on the sunny side of the greenhouse. For the first time in ages I have most of my seed trays in use, I have another double tray and lid, which I will sow with French Marigolds and leave outside for them to grow. 

The greenhouse is busy, this smaller plastic greenhouse will stay where it is until the warmer weather, when I can move it to the side and use the shelves as extra storage, I have placed it in the warmest part of this space. It's good to see everywhere being used fully, behind the silver (it's a radiator reflection panel), is my bougainvillea, it's doing better than last year.  

Hubby also helped remove some old wood which was along the garden, where all the slate is next to the Magnolia tree, with the lawn edging we did not need the boards, I also scooped all the slate from in front of the raspberry bed and put it under the red acer, this brought the level of the ground up to the lawn level, and saved me getting a couple bags of slate. I use an old decking board cut down to size to fill the gap in front of the raspberry bed, which is tidy enough for my working part of the garden. I did think of planting in the area, but it's a thin strip and would be hard to keep the cats off the soil. 

I have one area I am focusing on now, my tall raised bed in front of the greenhouse, I struggled to keep this full of flowers in previous years, giving colour through the summer, I have planted loads of bulbs, I am wanting to see what grows, and maybe change the layout. In a tiny garden every bit of space has to be productive, I want to fill my raised bed and use it as a salad bed, it's big enough.

Sunday was quiet day at home, I did a few smaller jobs inside, a bit of cleaning, and then after a short walk I sat and read, perfect time after a busy day before. The automatic greenhouse window opened for the first time on Sunday, not for long, it's good to see it still works.

We watched the final of The Traitors, I picked up this series a few weeks ago, I enjoyed it and hubby started watching as well, I will watch series 1 on catch up, we don't normally like reality shows, but this one was different. We also enjoy The Masked Singer, I don't know why as the host and at least one panel member I don't like, but it's fun. We are also enjoying Pottery throw down, having done a day class last year, it's no where as easy as they make it look, and they are all great potters. 

Doing nothing.

I saw this, it amused me, as it's so true. 

I have been watching True Love on Channel 4, it's about school friends who are now retired, they go to a friend's funeral and lament about getting ill, and jokingly form a pact to help if anyone wants to end their lives, I started watching it because it was set around Burnham-on-sea and Clevedon, places in Somerset from my youth, with a brilliant cast. It really has got me thinking, often after the programme finishes I am thinking about life, I'm healthy, but that can change so very quickly, It's a very relevant, and thought provoking, well worth watching. It is something I have thought about for years, we have more compassion for sick animals than humans, who are allowed to suffer until their natural end of life.

I did my 1st Pilates class this year on Thursday evening, loads of new members, Rosie took no prisoners, it was a tough first class, so I ached for a few days, missing all of December has not helped. I know once I'm back in the rhythm, I will feel much better.

Daughter came over with Molly and George on Friday, they do play well together, our house looked like a toy shop, I had hoped we could play outside, but it was too cold. Hubby and I had a quiet afternoon, very quiet for me, he was fast asleep for ages, I can't sleep in a chair, so I sat reading.

We had a simple weekend, we prefer not to go outside our village avoiding any crowds, we have not walked to the village much this week, we did walk twice to our Co-op, hubby is using his gift card for any shopping we need. I have been knitting and reading, watching a bit more TV, it's always better at this time of year, we are enjoying Pottery Throw down and I have started watching Traitors. 

I hoped it would be a cheap month, but sadly not, our CCTV system which is over 10 years old failed, we decided we would replace it, our neighbour is very quiet at the moment, but that could change, I like having the support of the cameras. I also thought my keyboard was not working properly, it's a wireless one, but hubby changed the batteries, who knew it had batteries, and now it's working again. 

Going into town this morning for our fruit and veg and then on to a garden centre, I would like some seeds and a wander around, I still have my birthday gift card and a bit of cash, I might see something, I might not. 

Spiced up

I show this each year, 

my typed Christmas cake recipe

used for the last 20+ years. 

 I don't used the orange juice,

I use the zest and juice of 2 oranges and 2 lemons

soaking over night

 I picked this tiny bunch of flowers from the garden

the vase is one from Win's house, her nephew let me choose a few items.
I have loads of flowers still in bloom.

Another good book

Set in Scotland

The house is full of spice, it smells lovely, I love cooking our Christmas cake, it will be in a low heat oven for 5 hours. It's the one cake I always cook myself. I have never looked for another recipe, this one works for me, I always use the juice of orange and lemons, if I'm using the zest, I like to use all of the fruit, the juice does not evaporate when cooking, so the fruit stays moist. Once the cake is cooked I turn off the oven and leave the cake inside until tomorrow morning, allowing it to cool down slowly.
I am sat here disappointed, we were promised a lovely sunny day here, yesterday was sunny but not that warm, I woke up knowing I could be outside today. BUT it's dull wet and not very warm. We have been promised a really good weekend of warm sunny weather.
I have my sewing machine out, I have one quick task to do before stitching Will's quilt together, my mind is full of the reading wigwam, plotting and planning how I am going to make it safe for a little boy. I have a few tricks which should make it work.
Hubby has been sorting our TV box, he has found me loads of TV series which I can watch again as the winter weather arrives, I am not good at sit and do nothing. I have Downton Abbey, Doctor Who, and The Handmaidens Tale, BUT I also have all 16 seasons of ER, with 12 episodes at 45 minutes long, it's alot of TV to watch. I watched every episode, always on the day aired, I loved every thing about this programme, I am looking forward to getting to know them all again. As for George Clooney, he was good looking but I always preferred Anthony Andrews ( Mark Greene).