Quiet days

We are all so very pleased George got his first level swimming badge recently, when he started lessons he hated the pool, most of his time was spent clinging to his instructor, she had previously taught disabled children to swim so knew what to expect. He now loves the water, I will sew his badge on his robe.

 These two small books are the second and third in the Magpie series, with just over a 100 pages each, they are a quick read, I normally shy away from short stories, they complete the tale. Books 63 and 64 read this year.

I popped to B&M for a few bits, saw their seeds were 3 for price of two, these at £3.49 per packet, cost me £6.98, with good dates and ready for next season, I've used this brand before.

I am getting small harvest a couple times a week, the berries hubby and I enjoy, eating them just after picking, its far from a great year, I grow things for enjoyment, I do feel for farmers who grow for a living, this drought summer is unforgettable. 

The watch on the left I have owned for about 20 years, I've worn it almost every day, its started to run slow and the glass is scratched. I took it to a well known jeweller in town for a service and new glass, the quote was high. The watch on the right is new and £50 cheaper (sale price) than having my existing watch brought back to a wearable condition. When did our world get this crazy.

 

It's been a quiet week, not seen much of daughter and little ones, they are all tired, so they have been at home for days, we stayed away so they could relax together. I did sit with Molly and George whilst daughter took Will to see a film, they both played quietly, still loads of laughter.

We woke up on Thursday to rain, not very much just enough to wet the ground, no puddles, not enough to show in my rain measure, which is a shame as our soil is still very dry, the weather front moved north of our location.

Like almost everyone I was sad to hear the passing of Dolly Parton, I have never been a fan of country music, Dolly crossed over into her own style, the world will be a sadder place without people like her, who instead of living the high life on show to the world, she remembered her roots and took action to help so many people. 

More reading

I have not read this author before, I chose it because of its location in North Somerset, it was full of places I knew around Weston-super-mare, I worked out most of the plot, and became annoyed to all the references to previous books. Book 58 read this year. 

I tried the first book in the series, it had a better plot than the above book, again I was able to guess some of the back story before it was revealed, it was nice to know the area's located in the book, it helped bring the story to life. Book 59 read this year.

I love this author, always a great plot, living in London, Nell witness a woman's phone is snatched out of her hands, the woman gets into a car to chase the bike, then Nell reads headlines, the woman has been murdered. This one event resonates through Nell's life, still shaping the person she is today, I did not guess 'who' (as in the title). Book 60 read this year.

I have read all the Roy Grace books, this title is the latest, a train is derailed and a sniper kills one of the queens party, Roy and his team have to find evidence and work out who and why, another great plot with a lovely twist at the end. The final sentence leads to the next plot. Book 61 read this year.

Another thrilling book, a couple on a tour of Europe, whilst in Romania their passports, train tickets and money are stolen, they are removed from the train in a remote stop. Back home their lives are changed forever, their world has fallen apart and then weird things start happening, I could not put this book down, brilliant plot. Book 62 read this year.

There is very little to do in the garden, I still deadheading the flowers, everything is starting to go over, it has been a harsh summer. I am picking tomatoes, cucumbers and now raspberries, I dug out another bag of potatoes, I have one bag left. My runner-beans are starting to grow.

I have picked up my cross stitching again, now it's cooler, the heat made me feel tired most of the time, I make mistakes when I'm tired. I have been looking at my scrappy knitted blanket, hopefully I can do more, it's again too warm to knit.

I have been thinking about my 2025 blog book, I have just a few months of my post to import, I have plenty of time, the best discounts are always in November, I do enjoy the process of making my book.

We have watched a few programs on TV, we are enjoying The Great British Sewing Bee, hubby loves it as much as I do. We watched Ann Droid and loved it, I've not seen Diane Morgan before, with Sue Johnston, who I love, we both hope a second series will be made. We watched Murder 24/7, not our normal watch, we have gone back to series one. Ludwig is back on our screens, series two is as good as the first, what have you been watching.

More rain please

 I purchased two blue lavender plants for the front of this square bed, it will save me having to get bedding plants each year for the front. I have a white lavender in the middle and in each front corner there is a bleeding heat and hellebore. 

The back corners have a Chinese witch hazel and a Forsythia, in the middle is a variegated evergreen shrub, which I can't remember the name, I have gaura and astrantia  plants on both sides and an aster daisy in the middle space, I aim to fill this middle section with perennials. This bed does get sun from mid-afternoon onwards.

I popped a plastic liner in hubbies old biker boots, the plants did not survive this summer, but this pansy, which I did not plant did, very pretty. 

My pyracantha, which I planted along the back fence looks dead, it had been in the ground just a couple of years, I will leave it in hope it might come back, everything else is surviving, my white rose in the corner has not bloomed since early summer.

The ground is still very dry, digging the hole for the lavenders I quickly came to dry soil, they are planted in hope the rain due again in a few days will help them settle. For many years I mainly used bedding plants to bring colour into the gardens, I always said my flower beds were too small for all year interest. Since the garden refit 3 years ago, I have changed my planting, I still love to see blooms, I now enjoy the texture and form of plants as well, I have shrubs and perennials to ensure I have something to look at all year round.

My three flower beds are almost sorted, the heatwave has killed off a few plants, most things have survived, I'm sad I'm unable to keep the huge daisies I love alive, I have purchased many and been gifted many which have come from local gardens, none have survived.

Making...

 Wednesday morning was wet, afternoon was showers, one very heavy, later the sun came out, I enjoyed a much cooler day. As promised I'm going to bore you with my new rain measuring cup, we had 8mm, throughout the day.

Molly has been at ours on a double sleepover, she has been doing crafts, which she loves, I got some plastic shapes, which you insert bits, we used some pressed flowers I had previously made, we then collected more fresh flowers from the garden and put them in my flower press.

Pepper Pig money box, painted by Molly, I promise you there were other paint colours, not just black.

Having fun with a dolly bobbin.

Pom-poms and a friendship bracelet. 

Thursday evening  hubby was out so we had a girly evening, watching a couple of films, munching marshmallows, Molly is such good fun. Most of the yarn crafting was beyond Mollys little hands, she does love the finished items, it's enough for her to know there are many things we can make together.

I am really loving the cooler days, two days of showers has done so much for the whole garden, just steady rain, not too heavy. I got a couple blue lavender plants from our local market trader, and whilst in town I got 3 packs of small spring blooms, I resisted the tulips I have enough on order, just £15 spent, I'm having a very cheap month.