March Round-up

It's that time of year when I am thinking about the garden and I start to purchase plants and bulbs, I also got compost, sand and pea shingle, so my spend is rising, I had plenty of craft to do here, which included using my stash. I am really pleased with, I did get Aran yarn, it was 10% off.

Purchasing 2 coats have taken my spending up to half of what I spent last year, but both were needed and both were bargains, one half price and the other a third of the price, they will last me for years.

Another expensive month, the cost of the fence and post has like everything else rocketed, but I think hubby would have struggled to do it himself and a our garden is perfectly private again. We did make a huge saving on the blinds for our front windows, but more importantly we did not throw away working parts, less plastic waste.

Again no food waste, we have our shopping and cooking worked out well, we are still using things from the freezer, but we don't want to run it too low. All the leftover food from Mothering Sunday lunch daughter took home, the kids ate through it all quickly. 

My steps were better this month, no weight loss, but last year I put on 4 pounds in March, this year I managed to stay the same weight, so I am taking that as a win. My Pilates class is going well, I also do excise on Monday afternoons, just for an hour, I mix up what we do in class.

Feeling good

Tuesday we had a busy morning with Molly and George, they are like twins now, Molly is almost 2 and George 4 later this year, loads of laughter and a room full of toys, best way to spend a morning. They sat in our chairs with our lap blankets after lunch to relax for a while, both thought it was hilarious, I love their happy faces.  

My pockets are done, I worked on both front sides, so I could match pockets, I am super pleased with how tidy they look, I do love a pocket in a long cardi. I have now finished the right front and I'm working on the left front. This is so simple it really quick to knit. 

So many people are having issues with Blogger, every day I am finding new comment notifications in my spam and most are from years ago, how annoying, I do hope no one thinks I deleted any comments, these have been lost in the system for years. I have checked the post before publishing the comment, and I never find the comment. 

Hubby put the new blinds up in our office, and we are both pleased with them, they block a bit more light out and are not so easy to see through, but we feel happy. They don't look much different from the outside, hubby also changed the roller blinds, these we use when the sun is bright and they defuse the brightness. Hubby has just started removing everything from the spare bedroom, he is replacing the radiator and decorating, then we will have a new carpet and the new blinds will be put up. The only thing we replaced was the material part of the blinds, which makes us both happy, no plastic waste. The old roller blinds were collected and will live on in another house. 

It's so much nicer having lighter evenings, it does feel warmer as well, I spent an hour outside in the garden on Monday, which is the only dry day this week so far, just a few things done, I did pop some of my ornaments back into the garden, the new season feels so close now. We are looking for new outside slip on shoes, we have a new rug in our sitting room, so we need to stop wearing our slippers outside, I do love the Clarks outlet site, so I'm off to have a look.

Wednesday I popped to Ikea with daughter, I got just a few small items and spent under £20, which was pleasing, daughter got a new toy unit for her house, there are far too many toys, but with 3 children, it's going to be a while before they have less. Molly carried a blue bag around the different levels and had huge fun shopping.

So sad to hear the news of the death of Paul O'Grady, I had never seen him live, but I loved to watch him, I loved his Sunday radio 2 show, and was upset when they took him off air. So many lovely things being said about him, he was a truly nice person, our world will be less without him. 

Doing it my way

Online I found the details of my Albuca Spiralis Frizzle Sizzle, it says they produce a vanilla smell, which is lovely, as I sit by my desk, the scent is beautiful. I will be sorry once these blooms go over.

My Orchid is still good, the taller bud is starting to open, so I should have flowers for another week or more. 

Happy to have finished knitting the back it's the same as the brown back, I always mark the row at each decrease row, so the front and back all matches. I also never cast off the final middle stitches, as always they then ask you to pick them up for the neck band, so I just leave mine on a stitch holder.

 Making a start on the front, just as always I am changing how I attach the front pockets, I have knitted to the top of the pocket, I then picked up the 26 stitches required for the insert, these were taken from a row of my work, in this case the top of the rib row, doing this keeps the bottom flat, I much prefer not to have to stitch in the bottom of the pockets. 

I have so many projects on the go, my big cross stitch, my calendar wheel embroidery, I have started a book, I still have not finished the badges on the blanket, and as April gets closer, I have new bunting to make for our garden, just colourful, not coronation fabrics. So I'm knitting a second cardi, I am enjoying knitting at the moment, and I will need a couple of warm cardi's for the evenings outside in May. 

I am still planning what to do in the garden, I want to move some tall daffs, which are in the wrong place, they can go into the red rose bed, I have loads of teta a teta need thinning out in the side bed, these will go into the raised bed. I have one shrub which is getting bigger I want to move, I have another to replace it, but as yet, I can't decide where to move it to, it might be in a pot for this summer. Hubby has stated he would like a water feature with running water, our huge pebbles in the dish are always green and horrible looking, our tasted differ hugely, so it might take a while to find something, it also needs to be solar to stay in the same position.

Saturday was a lazy day, morning with Molly, whilst George and Will did their sponsor walk around the local woods, I knitted in the afternoon. Saturday we lost an hour in the night and I had the worse night sleep, I got up late and tired, it rained all day, so more knitting time. 

Molly spots look like chickenpox but we are not sure, they are going around again, so I won't be going to sign group this Tuesday, as I am one of the youngest, and I don't want to risk infecting anyone, I will have Molly and George on Tuesday, as daughter won't be able to take them out. Wednesday we are popping to Ikea, we don't need any furniture, but just a few smaller bits. 

 

Planning and playing

I was tutor in our sign group this week, Shelia is giving us all a turn at a leading the group, I decided to have a visit to the zoo and practice animals signs, I purchased a pack of  cards, I only used a few, each person picked two cards and signed them to everyone. After I gave them the fingerspelling sheet, again everyone was able to complete it. It was fun once I had decided what subject to use, I used the BSL site for the fingerspelling signs, I would not want to have to decide every week how to spend our time.

Wednesday morning we spent time at the Portsmouth Downs Syndrome association party, they hold every year to celebrate our wonderful children. This local branch is a magnificent support group for the whole family, lots of happy people mixing and having fun, there was even a tiny one week old baby there. We are so lucky they are so good at what they do, supporting our children through out their growing lives, George has extra schooling sessions to help prepare him for school next year.  

I really should not have purchased more yarn, this is Aran, I got enough to make another long cardi, I just love the colour, I have already started on the back. 

I have finished the back using this fleck yarn, it does knit up well, the pattern is easy to remember, so it grew quickly. Instead of starting a front, I used my new yarn, as I am using different yarn than the pattern suggest, I would like to make this first, so I can ensure I have enough yarn, the brown fleck I have had for years and have more than is required by the pattern. The pattern is easier to see on the purple, and I am ensuring I don't make any mistakes this time, I hope to finish the back over the weekend.

Blogger is giving me old unpublished unseen comments, I've had a few in the past couple of days, I always check my spam file as I often find a comment in there. I really don't know what is happening. I can still only comment anonymously on my phone, but I'm OK using my desktop.

We both had dental appointments on Thursday morning, both had a bit of work, not cheap but necessary. I popped into Wilkson's and got four packs of summer bulbs for my raised bed, I am hoping once planted they will help fill the space, I will get a few nemesia plants, which I adore, and hope I won't need anything more in that bed. 

Friday we got our new made blinds, hubby popped out, I stayed at home as we were due a postal delivery which we did not want to miss, we had a lazy day at home. Hubby is planning the decoration of our spare bedroom, it should not be too hard work other than replacing the small radiator with a bigger model. 

Today we had planned a walk in the woods, George and his nursery are again fundraising, we did the walk last year, George was then using his walker, now he runs everywhere, again it's for Portsmouth Down Syndrome Ass. Another grandchild growing up quickly, hubby will walk with us, as grandma is away. Molly has spots, which daughter thinks might be chickenpox, so I will find out soon what is happening today, I have suggested I stay home with Molly, I think daughter will take in the weather conditions. 

Spring is arriving

Every time we pop out of our back door we can smell the hyacinths, the bed is in the shade so most bulbs bloom much later, so no daffodils as yet. 

The side bed is full of yellow blooms, many different sizes and types of blooms. I thought I had dug all the hyacinths out, but two remain. The rose bushes have been cut back, this photo was taken and I popped back with my secateurs, they will shoot from lower down and stay a lower height.

I popped some daffodils in this new rose bed, I do need more, it's a good start. I want to remove the bulbs from my raised bed, so once they have gone over, I will transplant them into this area.  I do need to wait and see what grows here this year, and add to any empty spots. 

My two big spring pots and full of growth, there are a mixture of bubs in both pots, I have forgotten what I planted so it will be a surprise as to what blooms. My blooms on my metal table are starting to go over, I will change my small pots around again. 

My Chinese witch hazel has looked good all winter, the leaf colour is very welcome in the cooler months, the plant is now full of new growth.  I am hoping for loads of new growth again this year and loads of it's tiny red flowers.

I don't grow many tulips and only ever in pots, they rot in our clay soil, these are a dark red colour to match the hellebore, again another pot with mixed plants in, hopefully colour all year, it sits outside the greenhouse door and can be seen from the house. 

Our magnolia tree is trying very hard, loads of buds have been blown off this year, but it is producing more, the right hand side of the tree is almost bare, I can't wait to see these open. I love the tree full of pink blooms, the leaves always follow the blooms. 

I love all the new growth this time of year, I am itching to get outside, even with our milder temperatures, it's still a bit early, I have done some work to tidy my beds, but I will wait. I have planted some cucumber and tomato seeds,  just enough for our own use, I have a couple packs of French marigold seeds to start, they are hubby's favourite flower, so I always make space for them. The rain is back, which is OK, will help the garden, and keep me inside a bit longer. 

I have been busy knitting, I was doing very well, then I noticed I had done a twist the wrong way and unpicked over 30 rows, I am now checking very closely, it is growing photo's next time. I have not done any cross stitch or my calendar wheel, which is OK, I will get to them both soon. 

Family time

 I have started knitting myself an Aran cardi, I am making it bigger, so I can pop it on over my jumper if I'm cold at home, I already have one, but it's getting scruffy, so this will be great for later in the year when the cold weather returns. I am taking my time and enjoying the design, when I knit faster I do knit loose, this is spot on tension. The yarn was purchased years ago, so only 4 years waiting to be used, it was purchased to make a garment like this.

My last Amaryllis is opening, this flower is much smaller than others I have grown, the colour make it worth growing, it's not as bright as I expected. I requested no flowers for Mothering Sunday, and just the gift of our daughter and her 3 children, daddy is away with the F1 team, covering the race. As Sue from Suffolk said, it's hard enough for our own 'children' to make ends meet, without purchasing us more stuff. 

The little ones were brilliant, we did not have a roast lunch, more of an inside picnic, which they all enjoyed. We had new toys for each child, all to be left here, which they had so much fun with, plus a few of our older favourites. The joy is Molly still needs an afternoon nap, so mummy took them home early afternoon, time for us to pack things away and rest ourselves. Daughter sent us a photo of George fast asleep sat on their sofa, he rested for a moment and took a nap. 

We have had lovely sunny warm days here, it's still March so you need to layer up to be outside, just seeing blue skies makes me feel better, the hope that warmer weather is getting closer. I have planted two pots of sweet peas in the back corner of my raised garden, I purchased them rather than growing from seed, it's much cheaper, the cost of seeds and compost like everything else has risen. I also planted another pink peony in my small raised bed by our back door, it's still a wait and see time as to what will grow back. 

Thank you for all your comments regarding the shutters, I did so want them, but they would reduce so much light, we would have them with split closure, so the top and bottom working separate. We popped to Dunelm and I spoke to a really rude lady, who made a very curt comment, and I walked away, I need helpful people not jobs worth, I did complain before leaving. We found a local company who does all sorts of blinds, made local and very friendly, we can't find blinds similar to our existing, but we did find a design we both loved, and the helpful lady explained, they could make just the vertical blinds, so we could reuse all the plastic top and bottom weights, so we have ordered new blinds, they will take a week to make, and we can fit them onto our existing rail, saving loads of money and not replacing parts which are still working. The good thing, is if we see anything which we would love in the two front windows, we have not spend a huge amount, we are going to get new roller blinds, we saw some in Dunelm, but I was so upset we just left the store, I will probably order them online. I promise this is my last post on window shutter/ blinds, I know I have had enough of it all. 

What next

I have added another design, this was taken from a heart design, which was stitched all in red, I enjoyed using other colours, I altered the pink bands so I could fill the space with this design. I have also done more on the wheel section.

I had a annoying dirty mark on my fabric, so I stitched a pale pink flower over it, I love stitching these flowers, so I did another one under the gold band. Soon I will be moving this on the frame to work on the right hand side, I will pattern down to match the left side level, and then I will work from the bottom up, I love neat lines along most of the edge, it makes the work look complete and tidy. 

This is our 'office' view, the blinds allow the light in and privacy, as long as we don't turn the light on, it does get too sunny, that's why we have two roller blinds, the window is too big for one roller blind,  hubby uses his more than mine. I often do small craft projects here, we sit at our computers most mornings, I can spend a couple of hours here, when doing my blog book.

 The shutters from the outside will look perfect and there are no issues with the spare bedroom, but I have decided not to go ahead, for us to be private we would need to have them tilted, which stops the light and the view out. We should have ordered them this week, but with the cost being so high and I am so unsure, so we are looking at a few different options. 

We popped out on Thursday to Dunelm, looking at vertical and roller blinds, and any other options we could find. Close to the store is Home bargains and B&Q, I was in need of 10 strawberry plants for my tower, no strawberry plants yet, but lovely white Camelia's, the one in the pot is for hubby's sisters birthday, and the other is for our garden, I do have a spare pot. 

I did think my head would explode this week, all this information and worry, the shutters are very expensive, almost the same cost as the replacement windows, there are cheaper options, but I always want smooth neat lines, visiting the showroom stopped me in my tracks. We don't often spend any time sat at our desks at night, so it is all about daytime use. We have had this set up for over ten years and it works well, I just thought the upgrade to shutter would be good, and really embraced the idea. Your comments helped me, I knew they would get dusty, we have wooden floors so dust can be an issue here. So as Lord Sugar says, 'the hunt goes on'

I have started knitting myself a Aran cardigan and picked up a book to read, which is  daft as I have so many other things to finish, but I'm sure you will all nod your head and understand. My garden is calling, but still I will wait a few more weeks. 

March colour

My daffodils from the garden are opening, they are beautiful and give so much colour to the sitting room. Amaryllis buds are in front, the shorter one is opening.

Colour in the downstairs bathroom, these bloom for weeks.

These blooms are slow to open, 

but as it has taken me a year to get to get to this point, I can wait. 

Meanwhile outside

Primroses are stunning this time of year, I have removed 2 side clumps and planted them elsewhere in our garden. I'm not keen on the many coloured Primulas, preferring the traditional pale yellows.  

Hellebores are always brilliant at this time of year,  

I now have 4 different colours. 

Teta-a-teta are everywhere, they clump and spread, I dug some out of this bed last year, they are growing in our rose bed. 

On the metal table, a simple white section, the hyacinth have flowered for weeks, when they go over I will pop the bulbs in my raised bed by back door. The snowdrops were much later to bloom, again I have thinned out the pot. 

As most of you will know, I hate cold and wet, so being outside is not an option, I only go out if I must, so loads of time inside. Monday was sunny, but very windy, our neighbours empty bin took a roll down the street, we got our bedding dried on the line, everything kept there with extra pegs. Tuesday was sign group another fun morning.

Not so much on this week, we went to a showroom to look a internal wooden shutters for our front 2 windows, I have wanted them for ages, our hanging blinds are now too long with our new windows, so they need replacing. Firstly they are expensive, on looking into them, I am very unsure, we have set aside the cost and all it needs is for me to say, yes, but and it's a big BUT, I'm not sure, really not sure, they are what I wanted, but is that what I want for the windows, I am so confused. 

All my post are imported into my 2020 book, it's all done by hand, I have a routine which I use, streamlined to get it done quickly, I will have to read through each page and edit, normally the best bit, but 2020 was not a great year. I have also done one post on my 2021 book, I have ensured the covers match all the previous books and the page grids, fonts and headers match.  I have not read any books for weeks, I'm not able to settle and pick one up, I have plenty of other things to do, I am working on my cross stitch design, and sketching my wheel designs for February. 

Into the weekend

We popped into TK Max, I love part of the shop, and dislike the clothes areas, they feel too much like a jumble sale, but their household and garden sections can be very interesting. I have been looking for a white tray to pop my 3 white plant pots on, just to keep them tidy on my desk, we found this drawer unit only in green, our office is painted pale green so it blends, reduced to £8, it is perfect for my plants, with extra storage. 

In Wilkinson's I got 4 packs of flowers, I transplanted my pink Peony and I can't see any new growth, so this is a replacement, I got an Astrantia a while ago and wanted a second, I have a white Dicentra so a pink one will be good, I've never grown Mirabilis Jalapa, they do look colourful. I will pot them up and keep them in the greenhouse for a few weeks. These are a brilliant way to get plants, you just have to care for them longer before they bloom. 

I got both the creams daughter suggested for me to use daily, through out the colder months I stopped wearing make-up, but as we are going out more I do try and look a bit decent. I also love this nail polish it's called In the stars, it's iridescent and looks lovely on it's own or over colour. I have already used these and feel good wearing them, I only used a tiny amount so it's very light on my skin. 

I have been doing my cross stitch as much as I can, I am enjoying working again on these designs, I paused the circular design, to fill in the space towards the middle of my work, the small square design is part of a bigger design, I do like it repeated here. I do need to think about what is going in the rest of this space, so I can decide how much more of the circular design I will stitch.  

Here in south Hampshire close to the Solent, we have missed all the snow, it has rained most days and is cold, our home is much warmer with our new windows, we are not turning the heating on so much in the daytime, so whilst the windows were expensive they are already reducing our heating bill. The wind has bent some of our taller daffodil's, which I am going to cut and bring inside, I don't have garden flowers inside as I prefer to see them where they grow.   

The last few days have left me confused, is it Sunday or Monday today, being busy for those few days, have tipped the balance of my life and I'm in the stupid position of not knowing what day it is. We babysat the 3 youngest grandchildren on Friday night, hubby gave daughter and SIL a lift to the restaurant, Molly cried as he left, did not want me, and only became happy again when he returned, I'm OK with that, George always loves and cuddle me, Will was playing minecraft on TV, so he was very happy. Saturday another cold and wet day, we have rain forecast for the next week, so much for me saying the garden needed the rain, happily no snow. I am getting through my book 2020, I am now up to October, and hope to finish uploading and editing by end of April. I will start 2021 in hope to have both books ready for November, when the publisher has their best discounts. 

Busy week

 Daughter and I went on a local hotel spa trial day on Monday, we had one treatment each, I had a foot and leg massage, then 2 hours in the spa and a lunch. Daughter had a head and neck massage, I was careful with treatments as I did not want to irritate my back, sadly the treatment was just rubbing in oils into my feet and legs, the spa was lovely, but lunch was suburb, we both had a beetroot starter and I had a salmon Caesar salad, with a glass of Prosecco and no issues with my nut allergy. Afterwards daughter gave me some make-up advice using some tinted moisturiser, we have the same skin tones, so hers worked well on me. 

Tuesday our sign group went to a garden centre for coffee, chat and a mooch around, the centre was not great, it's a Dobbies, which I find overpriced, it's to early in the year to get plants. The rest of the day I spent cross stitching and resting, I am loving being able to sew again.

Wednesday was a day at home, I did get my hair cut, which is strange as I am growing it again, I can't decide what to do with my hair. I did a good clean around the whole house, which always makes me feel good. My last Amaryllis is a nice height, and the flowers on my Albuca Spiralis Frizzle Sizzle are about to open, We have loads of pink blooms showing on our magnolia tree, no snow in the morning, just cold and raining.

Thursday hubby and I went on a pottery course, at a local arts centre, just a few hours of fun, the tutor was very informative and helpful, she explained how to hand build things and set us to work, she then called us one by one to the potters wheel, she centred the clay and showed us how to work it, and then talked each of us through how to throw a dish. Every dish was a different shape, some had straight sides, mine is more like a bowl. I also made an oval plaque for our wall, I did add a flower, which should be still there after firing, I then made a small hand built pot which is lower at the front, which I will have a use for, any unpainted clay will fire pure white, so my plaque is very simple. Hubby made a pant pot saucer, he struggled with what to make, but he did enjoy the course, it will be a few weeks before we get our pieces back.

We did a bit of shopping on Thursday afternoon in town, I will show next time my little haul. It rained all day on Thursday and was much warmer, temperature just in double figures. I am really pleased to have done so much more this week, hubby and I are hoping for a day out twice a month, daughter wants a day out together once a month, so we are all looking for things to do. 

Today Friday, I have nothing to do, I ache after last nights Pilates class, so I'm not planning to do much, We did have Molly booked for the morning, but daddy is at home this week, so she is staying in the warm with him, tonight I am babysitting whilst mummy and daddy have some time to themselves, they will eat out and find a film to watch. We have a couple of companies coming to price internal shutters for our two new windows, we are unsure if they will work on our huge window, so hopefully we will see samples and make a decision, if not we will replace our defuser blinds, as our existing ones are slightly too long.

A warm finish

I have finally finished this blanket, I have worked non stop to get it done before this cold spell, hubby loves it, I'm just glad it's finished and I can do other crafts. It's just simple stripes, which was quicker than squares and less ends to stitch in, I was undecided as to adding a gold boarder top and bottom, but hubby said no. I finished it on Saturday.

The colours are Welsh Guards, with added gold. We sit at night with our lap blankets through this cold spell, looking like a pair of oldies.

I am sketching February's section, we did more last month so filling the space should be easier, I am giving myself another week for the sketching, then I will catch up with the stitching, I am looking forward to seeing this grow.

I have manage to do some cross stitch, and I enjoyed every moment, it was fun to be back on this design, I am beginning to feel I might stitch as much of this circular design as the space allows. I've not done much, but it's now back as my 1st go to project, last seen here. 

I have loads of crafting to catch up with, but firstly I want to get all the badges sewn on our young neighbours scout blanket, I hope I can use my sewing machine, the blanket is a bit thinner than I would have used. Once that is done I have 3 more scrappy patchwork squares to make, these will make a new cushion cover for the sitting room, I also have the small Christmas cushions to take apart and remake into one bigger cushion, so loads of machine work. My hexagons are all made into flowers, all the spare ones have been gifted to sell for charity, I have no plans to stich anymore, and I have no idea what to use my huge pile of flowers. These are much the same things as I listed in January, everything was on hold for hubby's blanket.

I am looking for a book to read, I have a few here, so it's just a case of picking one. I got myself a new crafting lamp, with a better daylight bulb, which means I can craft more in the evenings, the light has three settings, warm, normal and daylight and angles well, so I can keep any bright light towards me and not hubby.

Sunday we had another hour in the garden, everything is now back in it's place, with a couple of pots moved, I can't wait until next month when the warmer weather starts, I love spring as it's a time of watching so many things reappear. Just need to get through the next few days, it's getting cold again. 

Getting outside.

Thursday was sunny and the wind dropped, so hubby and I went outside, he put 2 post into the raspberry bed, and attached the black spiral poles to wire, he used an old fence post to save money, I popped out my lovely trellis, this bed is now ready, there is some new growth already. 

The two arches from the back of the raspberry bed has been moved to along our back fence, I now have five of these, I did think of passing them on, but I will train my climbers along here, and of course put some lights out, I already have some, purchased earlier this year. 

My white Christmas rose, I have planted in front of the big raised bed, this spot gets loads of shade from the Magnolia tree in the summer, and more importantly we can see it from the house. 

This is the most important view, and I am such a happy lady, the fence is done, no issues at all, we are private again and with concrete post any future damage should be easy to deal with. It was hard work, with so many huge overgrown plants next to the fence, but the guy was an expert, and dug deep holes to ensure the post never move. Hubby got the stain out and have painted two coats.

I have separated these plants as they have grown big, the two in single pots are original plants, the triple planted are babies off this plant,  once they were all planted together, I am hoping these three babies grow as big and lovely as the mother plant, which is in my greenhouse. The white plastic pots are for kitchen use, but they are also great for plants. 

It felt so good to be out in the garden, getting the only job done so early was good, my raspberries can grow and not be disturbed, we even managed to sit and have a coffee on our bench, Purdy our cat joined us, felt so good. The wind dropped for a couple of hours and it was perfect to be working outside, I cut back my winter jasmine, it was very woody and most of the new growth was over the fence on our lovely neighbours side, which they can't see because they have a huge shed. 

Friday was such a good day, I was worried, but our neighbour only appeared once to allow the man out through her side gate, she allowed him to work on the last panel from her side, which has never happened before. All the huge overgrown plants along her side of the boundary fence made the task much harder, but it's done, we now have a private garden and we are both looking forward to better weather and time outside.  

Saturday I was up early, this bloody cough is back, so we both wrapped up warm and spent a couple hours in the garden, hubby painting, me separating a few spring plants and moving them around, hopefully in the week we can get all the pots sorted and my black fence around the acer again, there is no rush other than to get it all tidy. 

We did walk to the village, I popped 3 coats into the Salvation Army clothes bins, I prefer to use the bins rather than charity shops for all our clothes, I am looking for a child's pushchair and doll for Molly, hoping to find them in a charity shop, it's time to mix up the toys, George loves being a daddy to Molly's dolls as well. I also got 4 huge dinosaurs, all for just £10, another bargain.  No pushchair but I will keep looking and I will make another Launa Lupin rabbit for Molly.