Shed time

 My shed has arrived, we delayed the delivery until this week, I was expecting a tall box and was surprised on this shape, but as long as it's all there, hubby and I can get it put together so I can place it and fill it. Here I go again getting excited over a small shed, I forgot the word useful as I'm sure it's going to be.

I already had in my mind what was going in here, so it did not take long to sort, my tools stay in the garage and greenhouse, the bits stored in here are used in my veg and fruit sections, it's going to be handy to keep them all in one space close to where I work, mainly all my different poles and canes, the very tall ones don't fit in here. I'm sure the items on the shelf will swap about.

I think this space looks tidy again, it can be seen from the house, sitting on a paver to make it level, it does look wonky in the photo, but the concrete base is very uneven. I will store my various nets in the top section, the hatch is tiny. This area for me has to be pretty as well as hard working.

I have removed the runner beans, for now the bed is resting, soon half will have over wintering broad beans, I have heard of peas you can sow now, so I'm looking for them if not hopefully I can find some spring cabbages plants for the rest of the bed. I have netted the other bed which has leeks this end and Japanese onions in the back section, and one lone cabbage. For now on my back raised bed I have popped all the small pots with cuttings which are growing well, it's a perfect spot for them.

I have got some bulbs from Lidl and the Amaryllis from B&M at only £4.99 it's worth a go, both these packs are for inside, I will wait a while before starting them off, it's good to know I have them, plus pots and compost. I left all my Amaryllis bulbs outside this summer, a few have rotted, but I have 4 bulbs to try and grow again, I've never succeeded in getting flowers a second year, but I still try. 

Now is the time to review my veg section, it has been an expensive first year, I'm not concerned about getting my money back in harvest, that would take years, so we have spent what was needed to make it, and we can live with that. Also I need to consider the elements, the weather made it a cruel season, perfect for slugs and snails, we all fought a huge battle with them.

Overwinter broad beans were brilliant, lovely harvest and garden space cleared for a summer crop, runner beans had a slow start but romped away, I will have less plants next year, potatoes grown in bags worked for me as did carrots. Beetroot took far to long to get any size, so I won't grow them again, I tried courgettes in a bag, which did not do well, they take up to much space to go in a raised bed, parsnips also a slow grower, but I will grow them again as hubby loves them, so I only need a few. 

One main thing I am changing, I grew different veg in long rows, the full length of the beds, from now on I will grow short rows across the bed, the parsnips still in the ground are now in the wrong place, I can work around them, but it will be much easier if I make this one small change. 

I will be able to harvest rhubarb next year, my gooseberry bush is still small, it is looking healthy, all my soft fruits are in their permanent positions. We have been discussing a dwarf apple tree, which would need to go in a huge pot, the cost of a decent tree, pot and compost makes it not a cheap purchase, something we need to decide on.

I am completely happy with our garden, it is everything I wanted and hoped for, I get a buzz out of growing things, but it's not too hard work.

In my hands

On our recent trip I found a small wool shop, from the window I could see the owner had a wall of sock yarns, I popped in to see if she had any 2 or 3ply, and was lucky, I loved both these shades of green and hope to make myself a couple pairs of socks. I have used 3ply once before, these are 3ply. Our village shop only stocks 3ply in white, so I'm not being disloyal.

I have done some more to my blanket, I am loving the colours I am using, they sing of autumn, doing each row (diagonal) is giving me less ends to stitch in, I hope when I knit the edging I can hide the ends without having to sew them in. It's already keeping my lap warm as I am making it, the design allows me to crochet along and back again without turning my work, which is really handy.  

I do love this author, this is a set of books where David Raker an investigator looks for missing people, this was a different plot, he's called to a local police station where his wife is, she is confused, so is he, his wife died 8 years ago. A really interesting plot, which twist as it should and and ending I did not see coming. Book 71 read this year. 

Another author I enjoy, as a dad you want everything perfect for your daughter, how do you feel when she has found the one, is Ed over protective, or crazy as his wife is starting to think, it's a clever plot, leading you on, how does it end, surprisingly. Book 72 read this year. 

We popped to B&M with daughter, she took the children on a shopping trip recently and let them look at the toys, it's George's birthday next, we were able to get him his present and also a present for him and Will for Christmas, both boys can be difficult to decide what to get them. Molly is much easier, I don't want to get her a doll, but almost anything with a unicorn on will keep her happy, it's a very early start, most of the older grandchildren prefer money. 

We had a lovely time with daughter, both boys were at school and Molly was in nursery, as much as we love the children it was brilliant to have time with her, we went into B&M and Dunelm, which is next door, I picked up a few things. Hubby wanted to look for new towels for our bathroom, having used towels from Dunelm, we knew they are good quality, he wanted to come away from white towels which I always love, so we now have a sage green set, our old hand towels will be used in the kitchen and the bigger towels we will give to our local animal rescue centre, all we now need to to finish decorating the stairs and do our bedroom.    

Monday we were tired most of the day, so we stayed home, Tuesday we met daughter, afterwards we popped to Lidl to stock our fridge, so in all an expensive day, Wednesday was dull and showers expected, so other than a walk to the village another day at home, I did some work in the garden. This morning is sunny, we have both been to our dental check up, rest of the day at home enjoying a fine day.                                 

Weekend trip.

 I feel a fraud, with all your expectant comments our weekend trip might just be a bit underwhelming. On Friday morning at 8am, we got on a local minibus to Southampton, where we met a coach for our first coach trip. Its a good first trip as we were last on the minibus and met the coach at it's last pick up point, making ours the shortest journey time, some people had already been on for almost three hours, the coach journey started in Brighton.

After a long drive with a couple of stops we arrived at Llandudno, north Wales, we have visited here once before, a few years ago, once we sorted our room for the next two nights, it was late afternoon so we walked along the promenade, it was dry, but cool and blustery. It looked much as we remembered it, with The Grand hotel commanding the view, we stayed there before, but it's beauty had faded to the point we called it The not-so Grand.

Saturday was another early start, our trip included two different stops, firstly we took the scenic route through Snowdonia, which is so beautiful, all along the way the mist hugged the top of the mountains, much the way it has done every time we have visited. Just stunning views, we did not stop, so I'm not sure what the sword means, on checking Google, there are many interpretations of King Arthurs sword in the area. 

We then had a trip on the train to the top of Snowdon, it took an hour to reach the summit, hubby took the photo below, it captured our journey, the mist hugged part of the route, here you can see down into the sunny valley below, there is the reflection of the carriage. At points the mist cleared and the views below were stunning. 

Once we reached the summit we had 30 minutes to wander, as you can see it was all misty at the top, nothing to see. The views on the way up and down were worth the trip, we were lucky the summit was open, it had been closed earlier in the week. The area was full of walkers, all ages, loads of dogs, all happy to have reached the top, we enjoyed a hot chocolate drink, there was limited food and a small souvenir shop, which I did not attempt to get close to.

Saturday afternoon the coach took us to Betws-y-coed a beautiful small town/village, very touristy, full of places to eat and shop, it was close to Swallow falls, which we had visited before, but a bit far away to walk to, in the two hours visiting time, we did see a small waterfall in the town which because of all the recent rain was full and flowing. Neither hubby or I enjoyed the full two hours, it was too long for us, a fact reflected in so many others on the coach as there were loads coming back earlier. 

Sunday morning we spent wandering around the town and beach area, there was a huge sporting event going on, much of the promenade was used, we watched loads of people doing a triathlon, cycling around great Orme twice, swimming in the sea and racing along the promenade, we witnessed the winner crossing the line, it was cold, windy but dry. The town centre is much nicer than many, they still have many branded shops along the long main street, with just a short walk to a newer area with loads of bigger modern stores. We never saw a drop of rain over the whole trip, how lucky are we.

All afternoon and into the evening was on the coach, we both spent most of our journey times reading, it was nice to arrive at our destinations not exhausted, giving all the stress of driving to someone else. The coach was not full, which probably made the journey not so loud, no children just people our age. 

Would we do it again, it's a good question, we both have mixed feelings, our hotel was better than we expected, the food was good, with a few choices on each course, our room very clean and comfortable. Having the trip up Snowdon all pre-booked and not having to worry about parking was brilliant, all the carparks as we drove by were all full, but we did not enjoy the afternoon trip. I'm not sure I would want to do another, I would use a coach to get to distant locations, or if there was another excursion I was interested in, but I would check to ensure we did not spend hours on pick up stops, Southampton is a good location as it's at the bottom of the M3 which leads up through to loads of routes north and west.