I'm not going to say it...

 We are sitting out this heat wave, I do a bit of gardening first thing, I water later in the evenings, I have a lance on my hose, its a longer pole with spray at the end, allows me to water the base of plants without bending, this is when I am most grateful for a small garden. These roses are stunning, they change colour as they open, I cut it back last year so the flowers are lower. They hide the gap between the fence and garage, by the end of the summer they will reach the top of the fence.

I adore this bed, just 3 years old, these fleabane daisies are a froth of colour, the aquilegia behind are new this year, four plants, I'm happy if they propagate and I have loads more, my snowberry plants (2) are slowly growing and will fill out in time, my astilbe is in the middle and should shoot up soon.

I love pots you can give plants the correct environment to grow, Kirts grass hair is better than I imagined, I do like to have a few pots displayed together. Just a few of the pretty flowers here in our garden.

I will trim our olive tree, its full of blossom and getting bigger than we want, another tree we both love, we have had this tree since 2019, I feed it once a year and clip it often.

Another loved plant is my pomegranate, I started a seed way back in 2017, its been in this pot since 2022, it was moved to behind our seating last year, I've stopped clipping it and would like it to grow higher, its not a tree. I do have herbs in pots at both ends of the seating area.

I have been careful when purchasing new plants to remove weeds from pots before planting, I also prefer to grow from seed, which helps keep weeds at bay, so I don't have too bigger issue. I am pulling the buttercups from my back fruit bed, they are taking over, lesson learnt, they need space. In my side bed I have meadow rue, it's a pretty low green ground cover, all through the summer I am pulling it out, it spreads by root and can be a thug, I do like it around my big herb pot.

We did not see daughter and little ones on Tuesday, they stayed home, where they could play inside in the cool, George was going to have a sleepover, but he's not sleeping well, so we postponed it, whilst sad not to see them, we understand their welfare is always most important. I found sitting outside under the parasol with the slight breeze best, the morning temperature was 29°, as it got hotter we later went back inside.

Lack of

Energy, 

I've not done much sewing, the heat makes me tired in the evenings, that's when I make mistakes, I've not touched my knitting or read much, I find myself often sat watching wildlife, we are not sitting inside so much. I have been working on the left side, it's simple stitching, where I can see immediately if I have miscounted. 

I did manage to get into the kitchen and do some baking, cheese straws with tomato puree, bacon and cheese wraps using one pack of puff pastry, a no pastry quiche. I also made a few fruit scones, I had already purchased clotted cream. Hubby loves to bake so it's not often I get the chance, Will loves the cheese and bacon wraps, both daughter and I love my quiche, so everyone ate well, all savouries had cheese in so not for hubby, he got a couple of his favourite pasties.

We all love a freebie, these potatoes grew in my raised bed, I did not plant any this season, one must have been missed from last year, perfect in this hot weather. I still have 4 bags still growing, and some more sprouting potatoes to go in. 

Cute photos, scary how grown up George is now looking, Molly is not far behind.

Nothing much doing in the garden, I have planted my two tomato plants in a raised bed, along with my cucumber, my peas are soaked and in the ground. We are eating lettuce, our 1st cucumber and a strawberry, broad beans will be ready to pick soon. I have put a net up in the greenhouse, the shade does help with temperature inside.

Sunday was so very hot, the little ones spent most of their time playing on the sunroom floor ( I know it's a posh name for the garage space), they were very happy and out of the sunshine.  We vetoed a BBQ, just too hot, so the little ones had nibbles and we had salad with loads of sides, we will be eating leftovers for days to come. For us a perfect family day.

Monday daughter stayed home so children could play inside, hubby was out in afternoon, so I had a quiet day, mainly inside keeping cool. Tomorrow we are having daughter and little ones, they asked to come again, we won't do a BBQ, just too hot, we plan to have a main meal here so daughter does not need to cook later. Wednesday they are with Grandpa and Grandma, half term is a great week for them, both the little ones were tired so a restful week is perfect.

Thank you for your lovely comments on my last post, our new sunroom is being used and enjoyed daily.

It's sorted

 Our work in the garage is finished, it took loads of sorting, four trips to the tip, the bigger back section is tidy, we both have our own sections, now everything has it's place again and we know where to find things and hubby still has loads of wood (just in case).

I am really pleased with my second IKEA storage unit, I got 6 of the shallow trays, giving me 4 shallow and 1 double in each carcass, plus 2 of the deeper ones stacked beside. Plenty of useful storage along with two bigger shelves. The top shelf which I can't reach is all hubby's bits, stuff we want out of the reach of the little ones, my feeds and other bits are on the shelf below, still out of reach. 

 The partition is useful for my hanging hand tools, and a few other bits, this space is so much better for me, I can get to everything much easier, at the top is an old rusty rake which belonged to my mum, I ready did not want to pass it on, so I cut the handle and pinned it up there. The four horse brasses belonged to my older brother something I like to see in here. The bin is now on my side, I don't need to access the bigger storage much, so it's sensible to have it there.

Hubby built the two partitions, just a frame with tongue and grove on the front, I had chose green stain for here, but decided I liked it bare, we decided to paint the brick, we already had white masonry paint. I have loads of daft signs on my side, hubby will add bits to his side. The children's garden toys are here as well. For now we will use our loungers, which can be folded if we need the space. 

It's a very sunny spot and perfect on windy days to sit inside, we had ideas to knock the garage down and remove my greenhouse and build across the back of the garden, the estimates were eye watering. The second bonus, I am beginning to struggle with the up and over door, the smaller door was taken out by previous owners. 

We are both happy with this reconfiguration of the space, its nice to look at, which was important, it catches the sun all day, whilst sheltering from the cold breezes, if we sit further back we can be in the shade. Once the new french doors arrive we needed to decide on flooring, we did think of coir or jute, which is expensive so we have ordered so gym flooring interlocking mats, easier to cut and we can use our rug on top. We both have electrical sockets, Alexa works in here as well, unexpectedly our wi-fi reaches outside. 

We have used this space over the hot weekend,  it's nice to have another space to relax in, I'm behind on my veg beds, it won't take long to catch up, I need to get used to working in this heat, plus I won't plant out anything until the temperature drop to their normal levels.

I have no idea what day it is, the little ones had an inset (no school) day on Friday, so far I think I'm on my third Saturday, not that it matters to us. They will all be here later this morning, lots of laughter in our space.

Oops I done it again

We went to Lidl for shopping so we don't have to go out over the coming bank holiday weekend, and this acer fell into our trolly. I did not know I needed another one, it is beautiful, the leaves are different to my others, I lied to hubby stating I had just the spot for it, at £9.80 it did not break the bank.

Here by the steps to the greenhouse is my trio of acers, there are three different colours here, I trim it all the time to keep the steps clear. These are my favourite,  I love the different shades of green.

This acer is the star in our garden, purchased in 2008 for just 99p, it looked like a dead twig, but I knew it would grow back, I  gave it some acer feed this month, I will need to cut the front back later this year, so I'm hoping it thrives through the summer.

 George is not wanting to wear his school uniform, the school is very understanding, on the last day before half term, he decided to wear his top from his pj's, school shorts, mummy's hat and tassels from curtains, his teacher said he looked cool. Molly also has her own individual style as shown before.

This is our westher forecast for the coming week.

It's half term, so we are expecting little people to visit, we have stocked up on their favourite snacks and ice pops, probably have a BBQ or two as the weather is playing nicely. 

Hubby has to finish sorting his area of the garage, like me he does not like things just shoved into spaces. I have veg beds to sort, digging out the final cabbages, making the bed ready for two tomato plants, I have soaked my peas and they are now on wet kitchen towel, those which sprout will go straight into the ground, my runner beans are sown, a bit late which is OK. I am picking lettuce leaves, the cucumbers are getting to a nice size and I have tiny fruit on the tomatoes.  My flower beds are all looking good, I have a few gaps to fill on the side bed, and room for home grown bedding plants in the square bed. I do need to purchase some french marigolds, my seeds all failed.

Making designs

 I am steaming ahead with this, it helps I do love the design so far, geometric designs around the edge of my work appeals to my tidy mind. I have done a bit more on the other side, for now I want to finish this so I can ensure it's balanced. 

The pink flowers are the imposter in this design, in the original there is a bigger design using the same lines as the knots, I think this is nicer, and much simpler to sew, once I had worked out the positions of everything. 

I have finished my three stars, I did try and find a bigger design for this middle spot, but nothing felt right, in this photo it does not look right, but once I have stitched the other side it will balance. . 

This is important, I love this bowl next to my chair, a friend turned it for me years ago, when I am sewing it becomes my storage pot for the colours I am working with, handy for me, it does look messy but no tangles. 

We very rarely watch TV in the evenings and never in the day, I have a very good daylight lamp, so sewing in the evenings is relaxing for me, hubby often reads, we always have a playlist on Alexa, we have a big speaker for her so the sound is good. I'm not reading much I want to get ahead with this border, I plan to stitch the whole outside before starting the fun middle bit. 

Daytime is garden, greenhouse and garage, we are nearing the finish line with the latter, regarding the garden I am waiting for the temperature to rise to normal levels for this time of year, I have plants to go out, but I'm not going to risk them. I do like to always have something to do, I can't sit and stare into space, I fidget and have to do something, I have a pile of books waiting to be read, which is OK, reading is my second love after stitching. My knitted blanket is in a basket by my chair, I've not touched it in a couple of weeks, which again is OK, I will finish it a some point.

I wished for rain and I have got it, we have had heavy storms for days, the ground is truly wet, my pots look good, it still bloody cold, which should change later this week and into the second bank holiday weekend. We both are missing sitting outside with a coffee and slice of homemade cake, just chatting, watching the wildlife and Lilly, noting which plants have blooms, a perfect scenario for a couple of oldies looking for peace and relaxation at home.

Outside

 Garden looks great, loads of new growth everywhere, there was enough rain to keep garden going, now I am asking for sunshine and warmer days, I want to start planting my veg gardens.

 Roses, both bloomed when we were away, the pink one exploded with blooms, the white for now only one bloom, with loads of new growth I am expecting loads more.

This pot outside the patio door is simple, and beautiful, the third bloom will be white.

I've started netting my strawberries, looking as if we are going to have another great year, the raspberries and blackberries has grown in height.

Inside the greenhouse I have cucumbers growing and flowers on my tomato plants, everything is still doing well except my french marigolds seeds which again failed to germinate. 

I watered the garden on Friday and Saturday of last week, we did not get much rain when we were away, it did pour down late afternoon on Friday as we arrived home. In the greenhouse everything is good, I left most of the plants standing in water, which should have lasted a few days, I left the door partially open, we did not have any frost. Saturday we were expecting showers all day, it stayed dry and sunny (no heat), until late afternoon when it became much wetter.

George and Will spent time with us on Saturday, Mummy and Molly went to a birthday BBQ, George only wanted me, so I played with him most of the time, he had missed me, I had loads of cuddles. Sunday was another day at home, we both did a final sort of the garage, places were found for the last few bits, we sat in the front section for a while, it was cool and breezy outside, so a perfect spot to rest.

I still need to dead head around the plot and pick up after Lilly, neither job is hard, just needs doing often. Hubby has finished painting inside the garage, we have popped the outside rug on the floor for now and set out both our recliners, it's looking and feeling how we imagined, we still have to decide how to clad the two divining panels, I would have liked a fake living wall, hubby not liking that, so we are looking at other ideas, we did get some bamboo but neither of us liked it once it arrived, so it has been sent back. 

Back home

I love the shades of green and brown in this yarn, a mixture of cotton, wool and acrylic, at £3, very cheap, it will make a perfect pair of socks for me. I did not need anymore yarn, but it's never a need is it.

I got myself a new quilted jacket, very much my style and reduced from £50 to £20, from Edinburgh Woollen Mill so a great brand, perfect for summer evenings. They had loads of lovely 100% cotton T shirts, I resisted I really do not need any more.

 I missed posting this on Thursday, which was the day this year when UK has used all the annual renewables our earth has to give, again a couple days earlier than last year. These details have been recorded for years and still very few countries improve their status, all we can do is try harder ourselves. 

This was another good read, what would you do, a few strange happenings on following Wednesdays, you have a stalker, is he/she escalating, why pick on you and only on a Wednesday? Book 34 read this year.

Lilly was waiting by the door when we arrived home, she must have heard our car pull on the drive, very happy to see us, ate some food and went back outside to stalk things in the garden, later we had loads of cuddles and she lay on our bed with us this morning, very happy to see us back.

We had a lovely break, missed most of the rain storms, only got wet when we unpacked the car on our drive Friday late afternoon. Our apartment was well equipped and comfortable, on the edge of the main shopping street close to the beach. We found nice places to eat out, including a great fish and chips. The only downside was I was so cold, my own fault I packed long sleeved T shirts rather than jumpers, I wore my fleece every day, I've had my hair cut short and my neck was vulnerable to the cold.  

It's sunny here, storms should happen throughout the day, so I'm off out into the garden, some dead heading to do, hubby is already looking at his list of things to finish, the little ones are coming to visit, George has missed me, I did have my evening video calls and a couple in the mornings before school. 

Where am I ?

 This space behind the sofa is mine, I don't use it much at this time of year, the tunnel I'm very unsure of, it makes a strange noise when I go near it. I do like the rug to rest on better than the cold floors in the winter.

I do love a box, this is a good size and very strong, the last box broke quickly, I still hide in here later in the evenings.

I have two beds, the round one near the patio doors, the square one in their bedrooms, I don't use either.

I loved thus spot when I was a kitten, I can still fit in there, but I don't, I think she is hoping to reclaim it.

 

I spend more time outside, I love the garden and beyond, I visit loads of other places which they don't know, she wants me to wear a camera, he does not, so for now I am free, as I have said before, I'm wild, I have shady and sunny spots around the garden, recently I am in their garage, I'm very noisy, they are up to something, and I need to know what, is it for me. 

I still watch the birds, I don't bother chasing them, I have learnt I can't catch them, I do chase the bugs around the garden, and I love to watch something scurrying under the red acer, I also go into the garden next door, she is very unhappy with me, but she can't stop me, it is scary there and often I have to leap at the fence to escape things.  

They have left me home alone, a lovely friend of theirs comes in everyday to feed me, I say hello and check they don't forget my food, I am much happier here than in a cage at the cattery, I know she checks the security cameras in the garden and sitting room throughout the days, hopefully they will be back soon. 

Love Lilly x

Llandudno and Conway

 Just a few photos along the seafront after the rain.

Later in Conway, beautiful sunny day.

The expected arty shot.

We are having fun, doing a few different things, staying dry, we are eating out all the time, our apartment has a full kitchen which we are not using. A lovely birthday meal was enjoyed but hubbies older sister, who was completely surprised on us being here.

Crafting

 I was extremely pleased to see an email from the publisher I use with a great discount, so I checked 2024 blog for the last time, uploaded it and paid for it to be made into the book, the saving was over £40, so waiting for the right discount is always worth while. November is always a good discount month, Black Friday is best, I am doing well with 2025 and will send it for printing then, which I have said would be my last printed blog book. I am happy with 2024, so far I can't find any mistakes, there are normally one or two, which is OK, I'm not perfect.

I decided to stitch the whole of the top line to enable me to gage the size of my work, the line should be straight, but the frame has pulled it wonky, I am enjoying this part, it's an easy design to stitch, this is called counted cross stitch, the linen is blank, I have a printed pattern to follow, I have to count the stitches to ensure they are placed in the correct position, sewing one stitch in the wrong place can cause huge issues, with a smaller repeat pattern it so simple. 

This is the first of three stars in the middle, they will tumble down, it helps ensure there is no clash in the designs, often when putting patterns together they can cause issues where there are not enough space for the whole design, so if I pop a 'star' in the way it hides any issues. 

Look what I found in B&M, at £5 each these smaller plastic pots were not such great value and slightly a different shade, still perfect for my tulip display next spring, I will order from Farmer Gracy, I got bulbs from them last time and they all grew, I will NOT purchase anymore pots. I need to cut holes in the bottom for drainage.

I did get my sewing machine out, I had a bit of mending to do, I prefer to do it and not let it mount up, plus Molly unicorn rucksack's strap required mending, she does love it, so I wanted to get it back to her. Most evenings now I have a video call from George and then sometimes another from Molly, Friday night she wanted to tell me she made a giraffe for the man's 100 birthday, I said oh Sir David Attenborough,  bless her she said 'do you know him'.

We are staying in an apartment with hubby's younger sister and her husband, his older sister is on a trip with her daughter, staying in a local hotel, older sister is 80 this week, so we decided to join in the fun and ensure she has a good birthday. We have visited Llandudno a few times, it's a lovely town and beach, we have been to the top of the Great Orm, sharing a space with his younger sister is very different, she does love to read, and shop. Plus we get time away from the work in the garage, which is coming along nicely. 

Our local councils have not changed much, most people know when something is working its best not to change, the area is a mixture of Tory and Lib dems, most of them had less votes this time, hopefully we should not see many changes. The cities of Portsmouth and Southampton have had the biggest changes.

Growing up

My pyracanths is spreading along the fence, this plant should grow to the end, it soon will have blossom which the bee's love and in the winter months red berries for the birds. I have two Jasmines, one is my winter jasmine, we see tiny yellow flowers when everywhere else is bare, the other which is still tiny I can't remember it's name.

 My honeysuckle is as always top heavy, I do get flowers, I took a cutting which rooted and I planted, so hopefully I should have another plant further along. 

I potted up my mock orange, for now it is placed here, I was thinking of moving further down the fence to fill out the bare section, this gives lovely white flowers, it's better in a pot as it can get huge. 

 This back fence is slowly filling out, the white rose in the corner has loads of stems, I am trying to fan them out, in hope I can block out the garden behind, with a bonus of being able to have cut roses in the garden.

I am not a fan of plants growing up fences, I know garden designers will always suggest to grow things up to blur your boundaries, I do love to see a tidy fence, we painted ours grey so they become a feature. Along this back section our fence is low, years ago we added the wire top to stop the neighbours cats getting into our garden and fighting with our cats. Now my mission is to have a wall of greenery, with flowers when I can, I can only see a small part from the house, but I am often working in this area, so it pleases me to have the extra good looking space. Our neighbours have a huge shed and do not use their back section.

Our soil level is higher than the garden behind, and they have 3 trees close to our boundary, so it is necessary to have most things in pots, along with a couple potato bags and my leaf mulch bins, it's a full area, wide enough for my water but and compost bins on the other side, my centre path is not huge but it works for me.

Hubby is still working in the garage, he does not require my help, which is OK, I can always find things to do in the garden, I have cut back the daffodil leaves, they were turning yellow, I have also cut back the bluebells, they had gone over, I can see what's growing in my side bed, I am hopeful things will return. My peony is not doing well, plenty of leaves, just two buds, one has opened, the other is distorted and won't grow. I have loads of buds on my climbing rose, the three bushes are still just leaves.

We voted yesterday,  local elections are important, our council has done well, not full of debt, now we wait the results.