How does your garden grow

It rained last night, first time in ages, and our garden was glad to have the extra water, it's cooler and dull outside, but the fore caste is for more sunny days, so I am enjoying today. I am still not allowed to do much, but I have pottered in the garden, removing dead heads from the flowers.

These photo's are from my veg plot, above is pea's the flowers are appearing so I am hope full for a bumper crop. Below is our tomato plants, the fruit is just beginning to swell, I have loads of yellow flowers, I am feeding the tomato's.

Below again is the courgette plants, grown for me by Josh, when we had our BBQ Josh checked I was growing them correctly. I have a few flowers forming and again I am hopeful the crop will be good. I have had to spray to remove the black fly. I am growing these in a large pot, my veg plot is only tiny so I am stealing all space I can.

My herb garden is coming along well, I have picked fresh coriander, mint and chives. The basil is almost ready for picking. I also have a bay tree, rosemary, sage and parsley.

Below is a photo I took, we were walking when I noticed this poppy growing in the wild, I had my camera so I snapped it. I love the delicate flowers, they are so fragile and to catch a perfect bloom is great.


I am still of work, just too sore to be able to pop into the office, I am lucky my boss is Ok with me being off, I have now the dates for my Chemo, I will have 6 sessions. So far I am lucky as I do not feel unwell, in fact I feel really healthy, but I'm sure that is about to change. The chemo team have arranged the dates so I will have a session the week after Su's wedding, thus allowing me to be as well as possible for the day. I am also going to choose a wig design should I require one. I can't fault the care given to me at our local QA hospital, it has recently under gone an upgrade, with new buildings and has all the necessary equipment and staff required for my treatment.

Hottest day

Today is going to be the hottest day of this year so far, we have had good sunshine for the past couple of weeks, and it is set for well into next week. When the sun is at it's hottest I prefer to sit inside in the cool. My cushion front is coming along well, I did not take it with me last week, so I am catching up I have done 42 out of 100 squares.

Below is another free flower, this is sat on my downstairs bathroom window sill, I do love the colours of this orchid.

When we were away last week I had my first attempt at glass sandblasting. There were many different items to choose from, but I thought a sun catcher would be fun. We used "peel offs" as used in card making.

We stayed in Devon near Oakhampton, which is in the heart of the country, the views were breath taking and I have just a couple here, it was very hard trying to decide which one's to show.
This view is over one of the 7 golf courses around the hotel, Kev had a great week of playing golf and even won one day. I spent most of my time with two friends sun bathing, swimming and doing a bit of craft. I am now relaxed, tanned and healing rather well.

This was on the last night, we went out to dinner and for the golf presentations,

Today we are having another BBQ, just for the family, England is playing Germany in the World cup football, so the match will be on the telly. I will probably do some more of my cushion front.

I'm still not going back to work, another weeks rest is looming, I have nothing planned and will take each day as it comes.

Just a quickie

After telling everyone no more flowers,
these arrived this week from Kev's boss. They are so bright and beautiful.

We are having a BBQ this afternoon with friends, a get together and a thanks from Kev and myself for all their support over the past couple of months.
My brother Martin is insisting I tell you he has come 106 miles to be here this weekend,
he lives in Somerset, which was home to me.
Below is the view from our sitting room outside.

The patio table and chairs on the decking outside the house,
please ignore the "lawn" which at this point does not exist.

Looking across the garden.

Look what I found at the bottom of the garden, he comes well recommended,
I will post his photo's in a later blog.

The rose above and below have been left behind and is a bonus for the garden,
I love roses and normally buy yellow one's so here we have added colour.

We are going to Oakhampton in Devon tomorrow for 4 days, we are off to a spa with 2 couples, the guy's will play golf each day and us ladies will make use of the spa , I won't be able to swim or have a massage, but I am looking forward to the pampering and spending time with two good friends. Tell you all about it next time.

Tuesday at home

I have spent the last couple of days doing my cross stitch, not as much as I hoped, I can only sew for a short while. I am working through the 4th set of squares on my cushion front.


I am not enjoying stitching with the shinny yellow, it frays and breaks very easy, I am using it on this pattern below and for the centre of each flower in the 5th square design I started. I have 2 and 1/2 squares to finish and hope to do them in the next couple of days.


I spend alot of time in our sitting room looking out on the garden, in our tree we have a huge nut ball for the squirrels, we have to fill it twice a week, yesterday for the first time we saw three squirrels together at the back of the garden. They are a pest, but I do love to see them playing.

When we moved in there was very few plants in the garden, this peony was in the corner of our decking,
I have done nothing to it, but it has produced buds and now is poised to bloom, just in time whilst I'm off work to enjoy each flower.


Fliss has popped in this morning, she pops in most days to check I'm OK, Kev is having a early start game of golf and will be home soon. so it's just Grace and me, the sun is shinning but it feels cool this morning, we have nothing planned for the day.

Sunny Sunday

It's a another sunny Sunday morning here, Kev is on the golf course and will be home soon, Grace is sunning herself in the garden. I have had my op and I'm feeling rather good. Slow on my feet but Ok. Yesterday when I came out of hospital both Fliss and Su and their other half's came to visit and Josh had done this beautiful drawing of his favorite group The Wiggles.


Our floor has been laid and I am very pleased with the results, we are almost there, but for the mo everything is on hold. For the next few weeks it's recovery time for me.

Just so you can see the results so far.

The garden is coming along well,
we had our first strawberry yesterday and there are more to come.

The veg plot is doing well, Kev now has the task of watering each night.

Our flowers are doing well, I love the reds, pinks and purples in these blue pots.

I have not done any cross stitching as yet, I need to rest my top half, but I have read a brilliant book called " What Alice Forgot" by Liane Moriarty, Alice knocks her head and wakes up forgetting 10 years of her life, in which she has three children, that's all the plot you will get from me, just a gripping read.

I'm home now for quite a while, I have had a mastectomy and my other side reduced, so I have to be careful whilst the wounds heal. I feel very lucky to have a great husband, who has been beside me all the way, I have seen some horror struck hubbies following their wives around the unit, but my man walks beside me. Two daughters who are such fun and give me loads to look forward to this year, Su getting married and Fliss expecting our second grand child. My sister Leanna, who is there for me but gives me space when I need it and the greatest bunch of friends.
I hope this information does not upset you, life is strange at the mo but it is worth living.

Su's hen weekend

This is the coast in Dorset, we stayed in a large converted barn near Dorchester.

The weather was perfect, we spent Saturday morning in Monkey World,

and the afternoon at Lullworth cove.

The views were stunning, the weather was perfect.

Sorry the photo is the wrong way, but we were stunned to see this bucket tree, great fun.


The fridge at the start of the weekend, I am pleased to say we did not drink all of it and took home loads of bottles. This photo was taken before we did the weekend food shopping.


My daughter Su is getting married in August and her hen night was always going to be cat themed, we all wore ears and our cat names. As this weekend included the "mums" it was more of a fun time, the younger one's are out clubbing next month for their big night out.

This is just before our BBQ, which was cooked without any male present!!

We have the wooden floor being laid today and tomorrow, it was started yesterday and so far is looking good. I hope to have our furniture back in the dining room by mid week. It will be so nice to have everything almost back as it should look. We will have to add the skirting boards, but I am back in hospital this Friday for another op, so I want the place looking sorted for a while, the hope is no-one will notice the unfinished bits.

I will have loads of time in the next two weeks for cross stitch, I hope to have most of the work done for my red cushion front.

Mid week catch up

After our week in France, I am settling back into work and home life. My tan has started to peel and work is as busy as ever.
I am now preparing for this weekend away with Su, it's her hen weekend and we are off to Dorset to share a large house on a female only 4 days.
Kev is having a blissful weekend home with Grace our cat, he has planned for a motorbike ride and a Sunday morning round of golf.



My sewing is coming along well, I am pleased with the amount I have done, I have done one third of the stitching, I have added my fifth pattern out of ten, I have all patterns ready, but I keep changing my mind on which one to put next. I won't take it with me this weekend. But I will have plenty of time in a couple of weeks to get loads done.

In the garden

I hope you can see our garden squirrel, he is a cute friendly thing, and I do love to see him eating the nuts we hang for him, BUT last night I was chasing him away from my garden, I found him digging up my newly planted seeds. Photo's are not great, he would not sit still!


My veg patch is coming along well, I have had to string some shinny bits to keep animals away, I am so pleased Kev is going to make me a second small area. I have also planted two tomato plants and two courgette plants, I have never grown courgettes before, Joshy passed them to me so I will have to ask him how I get the best results. I have also planted 6 sunflowers, for seeds for the birds.

My final photo is of another free Orchid, this one has been sat on my bathroom window sill, I left it most of the winter and started feeding it last month. I hope to have more flowers soon.

I am now preparing to go into hospital for a third operation on 11th, I will be home for at least two weeks after resting. I am planning to spend my time cross stitching my cushion front. I have a small ABC heart to do whilst I'm in for three days. So yet again fingers crossed, this should be the last op this year, I will need another but not until next year.
We are also busy with Su's wedding plans, so plenty to do.