How many!!!!

So November is here and it's list time

another month overspent and now just £95.69 saved on last year

I have  £36 left in my pot so I have to be good to save £100 on last year.

 I love my new slippers, and hubby got a pair of baby shoes
not sturdy hardy slippers, but pretty ones

 I could not resist these, I pop to local charity shops 

looking for vintage glass decorations.
But these from M&S fits the purpose.

 I have potted this up for the new year.

 Our garden is not too bare 

This is the 1000th post of this blog, crikey that's alot of waffle, you all deserve a medal for staying with me. So on this post I will celebrate, time for a give away, I have a few things in mind, but rather than decide before hand, I will decide after I have chosen the recipient what to send. So if you fancy a random giveaway, please add a comment on the bottom of this post, no need to advertise it, I'm not after new followers, I'm happy to post anywhere, just one question would you like hand made by me or something else, just quote which.
Today we had the funeral for Win, we have said goodbye to an amazing woman, as we heard more about her life it was clear to see she was a very special caring woman, we are lucky to have know her for 7 years, she won't be forgotten, she had a impact on everyone who knew her. Now we wait to see who our new neighbours will be.

Ops I done it again

My favorite site had a sale on

so I have been naughty, but they were all a good price.

 Our Christmas cake is looking good

it has had it's first drink of Brandy

It's a dull morning here, soon we will be popping out, I do need new slippers, mine look terrible, defiantly seen better days, I only started wearing slippers in this house, we have wooden floors, which at this time of year don't suit walking about in bare feet.
As you can see from the photo's above we have been thinking about Christmas, I did design my Christmas cards, but the finished item was not as I wanted, so I am rethinking. I have not done my sewing, most of last week I really felt unwell, the lack of sleep leading my problems. My cough is much better and I am now sleeping for longer at nights.
Yesterday we got our camper van, it's a converted Mercedes sprinter white van, with hubby 6'2", we were going to require a larger interior, the conversion inside is good, but  a bit tired, but I can deal with that, firstly we are discarding all the contents of the cupboards, we have already seen the china we would like, the price of the van was less than our budget, so I have funds to replace items. It does have a tiny shower room, which we will use as a toilet, we just have to purchase a portaloo. We are talking about going away for 1 night soon just to test it out.
Last night we had a lovely meal with youngest daughter, her hubby and his parents, it's nice to get together, it is the last time for a while, as daughters MIL and FIL spend winter in the sun, lucky people, they will pop back in February when baby is born and then we will see them in April.

Just stitching

I have done some more to this

Touchon O Christmas tree

 Here will be another two flying birds

 The frog was present

I did a load of stitching, only to realise 

I had used the dark and not the mid brown thread.

When I restitched it covered the brown smudge. 

 My French marigolds are in flower in my green house

They do look lovely. 

I am still full of cold, I have a bad throat and cough, my main problem is not being able to sleep at night, the last time I had a full night's sleep was last Saturday. So I am very tired, hoping for an early bedtime tonight. Almost everyone in the office has a form of the cold bug, the temperature is all over the place at the moment, last night was far to hot, it's hard to know what to wear to work each day.
I have enjoyed doing my Christmas stitching again, I just love the little birds in this piece. I have not done anything with my sewing machine.
Later we are going to watch the bake off final, I am wanting Andrew to win, but I do have history of picking the wrong person, so I hope I have not jinxed his chances.
Saturday morning we are off to see a converted camper van, the photo's look good and the van has ticked all our boxes for items we wanted, so providing there are no hidden problems we should be proud owners of our own camper van. If we get it there will be photo's next time. I am already making a mental list of things we need to get for inside, and who knows we may get away one night in November, it does have a heater inside.

It's warm inside.

The juice and zest from these went in our dried fruit

left to soak all the juice up over night

Tomorrow we bake our Christmas cake

 I have been planning my next bag, it's for my patchwork stash

I saw something similar on Pintrest, but this is my design

With my small cutting board being the template for size.

 My Spanish plant is doing well in this tube, it has grown loads

It's looking more like a plant and less like a cutting. 

it's grown over 10cms since I first got it home

 My tiny spider plant is also huge

again it lives in our sunny office

 Just finished this brilliant book

 Next I will read Song of the Skylark

We had a lovely Chinese meal at our youngest daughter's on Friday evening, we also sat at their new table and chairs, loads of chatter. Just a lovely evening together.
It's been a weekend of home and inside, I got up yesterday with a  bad throat and cough which is going around, so we have stayed in the warmth, and I have pottered. Yesterday afternoon I caught up with loads of taped TV programs, watched the last Gardeners World for this year.
Today I did the citrus fruit for the dried fruit, I love the smell in our kitchen and tomorrow it will be full of spices, we are a bit late cooking our cake, but there is still plenty of time to ice and finish it.
I did enjoy the planning of my new bag, I have a few things to work out, and want to patchwork the outside cover, I have not done the bunting, the noise of the sewing machine would be a bit much for me at this time, once the headache and cold symptoms go I can get my machine out.
I did spend a few hours on my last years blog book, all the pages are now in the book and I have sized the photo's. All I now need to do is look at each page, tidy the lines, check spelling, but there are 248 pages, it's the biggest book so far, I did alot of post last year.
I am also going to pull out Torchon O Christmas tree, I have not stitched this since May, and time will be running out to get it done for this year.

In the greenhouse

It's a bit full in here

Looking left

Looking right

French marigolds anyone

My seed section

Avocado and acorns

This is the only succulents left outside

It was lighter tonight so I popped down to the greenhouse to water and check things, it's so full in here, my tomatoes are still growing and turning red, not sure how long the plant will last.
Not done too much else, work is busy so evenings are restful, I am reading another book, I should be doing cross stitch, it will wait for me.
I have cut out some of my bunting, I hope to be able to sew together this weekend. I have also starting cutting material for the new bags I am making, each bag ends up with 5 layers, making it strong and thick, I also want some patchwork on the outside, my head is full of plans.
We are hoping for a quiet weekend, neither of us have plans, so it will be a fluid time, we would like to get and see the new nursery, it's coming along well. Just plenty of sewing time.
The Autumn season is really showing now, cold mornings, and much cooler in the evening. My sandals are gone it's all about boots and scarves, summer was good whilst it lasted.

Winter tidy

Hubby cut the grass, we have not had rain all week
everywhere is tidy for the coming colder months

We love our Magnolia tree

just waiting for those huge leaves to start dropping

From the back fruit beds doing well. 

The strawberries have done well since I put them in these huge tubs

I have a few berries going red. 

I have done all my flower pots, and gave them a good soaking, everywhere is still so green, the flower bed is a bit ropie but I still have some colour in the boarder.
We got our rain Saturday afternoon and over night on Sunday, not huge amounts but enough to help the dry ground.
I got my parcel from M&S, all three items fit and I like them, so I'm really pleased to save just over £100 on the items, I do love Per Una clothes they are well made, but I can't help but think their price tags are too high.
Our youngest daughter and her husband came for a lovely home cooked roast, with a home cooked rice pudding for dessert, we sat and chatted for a long time, it was lovely to catch up, she is blooming and has a beautiful baby bump. We sat inside and watched another heavy rain storm, all cosy, warm and dry.
I have sorted my fabric stash, I now have a few projects on the go, I have decided on the fabric for the boys bunting, I hope to cut the triangles tonight ready for sewing.
I also want to make a couple of bags, for myself and my sister, I saw the design on Pintrest, but again there is no pattern, so it's a cut and design as I go.
My daughter wants me to make her baby carry all bag, she chosen the fabric, now I need to design the bag, with loads of useful pockets and I will start on the patchwork for the cot, all lovely shades of blue.

Busy weekend

Stitching this is fun

but October is too far to the right

I will alter the design to ensure it looks good

I can't be bothered to unpick

 These colours I do like

After work yesterday I worked on my new raised bed

 Looking down a tidy path, the pansies will be planted later today

 my Blackcurrant bush fits here, plus a dahlia going over

One last look at these pots, I will transplant into plastic pots

and they will spend the winter in my green house

I have now my raised cut flower bed, hubby lined the inside with plastic, the bottom section I filled with all the spent compost from the last few plastic pots I had, no roots will ever go this deep so it's a cost effective way to build the soil up. I have added compost, top soil and farmyard manure to the top of the bed, and I have already scattered some seeds, I have loads for next spring. The plastic cover is the door from my old green house it fits perfectly and will keep the cats away, in the spring we will make a mesh top for the blooms to grow through. So the last messy spot is now sorted, later I will replant my pots with winter pansies.
I have already put loads of my nice ornaments from the garden into my shed, my shed is getting full, as it does each year at this time.
We are popping into town this afternoon to get my M&S bargains and then on to Sainsburys for Christmas cake ingredients.
Tonight we are out with friends for a Chinese meal, plus a few glasses of something nice.
Tomorrow the house will smell of the beautiful spices as our cake cooks. Our youngest daughter and her hubby is coming for lunch, I have not seen her for a while, she is blooming in her pregnancy so it will be good to catch up.

A letter and a parcel

Two nice items in one day

Letter from our boss, 2.5%pay rise 

back dated to May, in our pay tomorrow

An expected parcel from Dawn

 Dawn makes the most wonderful craft items in her beautiful cabin

 These are for bunting for two of our grandsons

perfectly made for me to finish and string together

 Plus an extra gift for Finn

A book cushion, I asked for Dawn to use the same fabric. 

 Up close

the most perfect words, just need to get a great book.

Today has been up and down, the morning was much the same, then the boss handed out our letters, we knew the pay rise was coming but 2.5% was more than we expected and to be told it's back dated for 6 months and in our salary tomorrow.
We were all called into a meeting our roles are changing, not by much, myself and Mel has changed for the better, I now deal with one of the top customers and all retail stores, and Mel takes all the smaller companies. The work is now balanced better and I am dealing with locations with lovely people. The other two ladies are not at all happy with their changes, but for the moment I am in favour at work.
To come home to the wonderful stitching from Dawn, I put my order in a while ago, I could do the letters for the bunting, but I knew Dawn could do them a whole lot better. Dawn has a second blog, if you don't know her click on either of the links, grab your favorite drink and enjoy getting to know her.
Last night hubby asked me chose my birthday present for next month, and I have a couple pairs of Fiskars scissors coming, it's much nicer to know what is coming and for it to be useful.
I also popped to Marks & Spencer web site, they have a huge sale, Per una range was discounted so three items later, it should have been four, but one sold out before I got to the pay section. I spent £28.47 on three items, a jacket, a cardigan and a jumper, I saved over £100 on the items, just have to pop to town on Saturday to pick them up.

So today was a good day

Life as we know it.....

Flowers in October

 Hubby has built my raised cut flower bed, 

it's bigger than I expected, which is not a bad thing. 

The contents of all these pots will go in the bottom, 

there is room for the big pot with my blackcurrant bush in the front corner

 I'm feeling smug, this plant shows no signs of stress 

after being repotted and my new super tube to keep it warm.  

 I have done some more stitching

I am loving September colours

November was released today.

I am loving the cold dry mornings, I leave the house at 7.30am each morning, I do enjoy the crisp mornings, wrapping up warm, extra layers and the different clothes I have pulled from my wardrobe.
We are not yet in danger of over night frost. On Saturday I will pack items away from the garden, loads of things spend winter in my shed, all protected. My olive bush will go into the greenhouse and my succulents and cacti will over winter in a new cold frame hubby will make for me before the weekend. I have the old opening window from my lean too greenhouse to pop on top, the plants don't mind the cold but hate the wet.
Our lovely neighbour Win passed away last week, she would have been 102 years old on 2nd January, she was in hospital and did not wake up one morning. We are deeply sad to think we won't be able to chat to her any more, she had a sharp mind and wit. We have had the pleasure of knowing her for 6 years, she is not the sort of woman you forget any time soon.
We have been watching a few more camper vans, a couple got away as the price went too high, we are not in a huge rush, the right one for us is out there.
Work is back to normal, we are still slow but soon enough we will become very busy, but we all get on as a team and days include fun, which is good for everyone.

Out and about

I went shopping and got 4 large glass baubles 

not for the baubles, but they will be used on my tree

 The tube they came in, is perfect for this plant, Bouganvillea Amarilla

I could not get a tall thin cloche anywhere, the tube is the next best thing, the plant is about 20cm's high now and doing well. I have repotted it after checking on the net for it's care. It requires sunny hot and dry conditions, which means it will live here on my desk always inside. I have a friend who has one in her conservatory. 

 An orange pip for a friends son, 

I have more lime pips, keeping every thing crossed one might grow. 

 I have done a bit of stitching

 I am behind with this but I will soon catch up.

June is the last completely finished box, but I want to change the flowers in some and am happy to wait to see the whole finished before I choose my colours. 

We had the weekend away in Somerset visiting with family, catching up on every one.
Logan and Finn are a cute as ever and full of laughter and fun, we played Batman together, they had been swimming in the morning, so not as full as energy as normal. Again Logan is very happy in his second year at school, both boys have got very tall, how quick they grow.
My sisters garden is stunning, they have worked hard, we sat and had a coffee outside this morning, they have loads of small birds around their house, who visited whilst we chatted. We brought home some of their old decking planks, I require a 4' x 2' raised garden, we will use the planks on the outside, it will tuck in a nice spot and I can plant flowers for a cut flower bed. When done it will be the last job in our garden, I will have a few large plastic tubs to get rid off and then we will be tidy everywhere.
We all went for a curry last night, 5 of us enjoying the company, family and good food makes a great evening. Tonight we are planning an early night to bed. It's lovely and sunny here, but I am going to relax inside, the few things to do in the garden can wait until next weekend.

Flowers

Someone should tell my garden it's October

 This bloom came off the plant when I was dead heading

 In the front garden

 Both plants share one huge tub

 Side flower boarder

 These are my favorite flowers

 Bit arty

 These are from cuttings, I should have two new plants next year

 These love their pot life and have been blooming for months.
On the whole my garden is not looking good, but in a few spots I have the most amazing colourful blooms, I love the late colour these flowers give us.

I noticed this spring the plants purchased with their roots in a tea bag, well it looks like a big tea bag, when they went over the roots had not grown much outside of the bag, so this year I have cut the bottom of each bag.
Is there a proper name for the 'teabag'

 I have not done all my pots as yet, some are still looking good.

I have planted the unused plants into small pots. 

Sunday was a busy garden day, not hard work, loads of little jobs, hubby has covered our hard wood garden furniture for the winter, we do not have space to store it anywhere. I still have loads of pots to sort, but I have left the better looking ones, I hope to get a couple more weeks from them. The green house is filling up, I so love having it and I'm making the most of it.
We viewed a camper van on Sunday morning, overpriced and unloved, much too much work to be done on it, shame because it had every thing we wanted, no problem we will keep looking, our van is out there.
I saw Josh and Sam over the weekend, both boys are lovely and bring me so much joy, I am really pleased the first few weeks of Josh being at the senior school is going well, he sounds happy, I am also really proud of him as he is in the top class for each subject. Sam has settled into school without Josh being close by, a real good start to their school years.
I am loving the warm sunny day today and looking forward to many more this week.