Flowers

I am going to plant flowers in a couple of bags to use for cut flowers in the house, I was quite successful last year, so gypsophila would be nice to fill my flowers out, I did try growing it before and failed. This time I have started it in a pot in the greenhouse. Just one packet of seeds purchased from B&M. The packs of freesia came from Poundland cost £2, these I are already in cells in the greenhouse and then once they are growing I can plant them outside.

So my garden is full, BUT in B&Q this week another reduced plant, just £2, I have tried growing echinops before and I failed, these are very different to my normal choice, it's in the greenhouse and will be potted up and when it's a good size it will have a place in the garden. I did leave loads of decent looking reduced plants behind, they had loads of hellebores and grasses.

This spot in front of my blueberry tub is in the back of the garden in the veg section, in front of the greenhouse, I have rhubarb, gooseberry and my strawberry tower in this bed, still room for some flowers, this corner is by my steps and looking very pretty this time of year, with my stone hedgehog (which is over 30 years old) and a broken plant pot for a hedgehog house. I don't touch this bed it has summer plants as well. 

This is the first book in the set including The Marriage Act, whilst set in the future and a bit tongue in cheek, I picked this because it's the start of the changes. Do you have a soulmate? and if so can DNA match you to the person, a scientist cracks the code and it's working, There is always a BUT, again following 5 very different stories. Book 11 read this year.

A new author to me, this is a very clever book, nothing dramatic, it follows an author on hard times, his wife is gone, he can't write, and then he's sent a life line, with consequences which he finds out afterwards, and a utterly brilliant twist, I could not put it down. Book 12 read this year.

I have sorted the sweet pea seedlings into the long root pots, they are now in the greenhouse under cover, last Wednesday we had a sunny day, still cold, inside the greenhouse was 20°, nice and warm, so I got a few jobs done, sorted old pots and packed them away and potted three extra strawberry babies. I have little space inside, I will have to sort more bits, maybe in a couple of weeks, hopefully I will be able to move a few bits outside into a makeshift cold frame. It felt so good to be outside doing what I love.

I got a bag of bark and another of grit from B&Q, the bark is already spread across the daisy garden, I last did it back in 2023, and it needed topping up. I had enough to do the side bed as well, not too deep, just enough to keep it looking good, the square bed had my own leaf mulch put on last October. Our favourite garden centre has good compost on a BOGOF, at that price it's too good to miss, we plant a visit this week.

I spend Sunday with daughter, George and Molly, Will was at grandma's house, we stayed in, Molly read her school reading book to me, George and I read his together, he can read smaller words, and repeats the longer ones, it's as much about speech as it's about reading. Just a lovely family time, daughter was able to have a long shower and take her time with her hair, I have a sewing job, Molly got her 1st level swimming badge, I will pop it on her swimming robe for all to see. 

Has anyone had contact with Northside Dave, just wondering how he is doing?

How many years

 It's February 9th, 

not a huge date in the world, here it's the anniversary of my blog, I wrote my first post back in 2009, seen here. I had no idea where it would lead, my daughter was enjoying blogging and suggested I try it. At one point I had 3 blogs, one for photography and another for my dolls-house, both are still there, I don't use either, hubby tried a blog, but lost interest, daughter no longer blogs. 

I still prefer the gentle medium of blogging, I have a great list of people who I follow and love to read, everyone living around the world, often with similar hobbies, views and lifestyles, I adore how we are all very close in our opinions, but very different in our lives. 

Each morning I sit at my desktop and catch up with my world, emails and blogging, I no longer post on Facebook, I still use my Instagram account. In these turbulent times it's good to have a space which feels safe and friendly.

 How long have you been blogging?

Yarn

 She is doing something different, loads of these coloured balls everywhere, some on the floor, are they for me, NO, I'm not to touch them, Ohh, I want to.......

One moved, it rolled, everything on the floor is mine, that's been the rules so far, they both throw things for me to chase, again she called NO.

I'm just a small cat, how can I resist something so playful, she was laughing when she caught me, it's still NO, I can't play with them. I heard him say it was her fault for letting them drop on the floor. 

....................................................

I have finally found something to use some of my huge stash of bits and bobs of 4 ply yarn leftovers, I saw this pattern on Pintrest, I do love to knit, but I'm not so good with long rows of stitching, this design is made knitting each colour segment in one go, only when the colour blocks are completed on the row do I need to knit two contrast colour rows. I purposely mixed different thickness, it's all 4py, some brands are spun closer making them just a bit thinner, this is my test piece, it will look better once it gets to a good size, the weight will pull it flatter.

Doing the test piece has helped, firstly the yarn from each of the colour rows stays attached until all the colour blocks are finished, so there are ends and strands I'm knitting with, I will need to sew in ends once they are finished, other wise I will get into a right mess. I have already worked my method of making this, I need to mark the main 18 rows once done, it's not easy to find my place if I lose concentration. I can also work out the number of blocks I require in each row, it's not a bulky, and I have no use in mind for it, being pretty is enough for me to make. I intend to use the smaller scraps, I have sock yarn and various other 4ply from jumpers knitted. I don't have enough yarn for the contrast colour, I will purchase a couple of balls, can't decide on grey or black, either colour would work well.

It's great to finally find something to do, I had been looking at the 10 stitch scrappy blanket, but the deign was too blocky for my taste, I had started crocheting squares, again no a favourite thing for me to do. I toyed with another Tunisian blanket, I have made 3 already, it's a good way of using scraps, using 4ply is not the warmest, they are too light weight for a lap blanket.

This did lead to me having a mini sort out of my craft bits, loads of books to try and sell, whilst they are great craft books, I have not looked at them for years, I tried an online scheme, which gave me their prices, a couple of books sell much higher on ebay, maybe time to list my books, if they don't sell them I will go back to the site. 

It has been months since I last did any craft, I'm not sure why, this winter I had closed myself down, again I'm not sure why, I kept saying nothing is calling, but in truth I stopped looking. I will need to have things to craft in advance of the later months of this year to try and avoid becoming inactive. I am beginning to believe I suffer from SAD, I have always required an outside space for balance, in the past few years as I get older I am not liking going out on wet days, which is many days each week inside.

Hope

 My sweet pea seeds have started to grow, now I will pop them into my long root sections, allowing them to grow into healthy plants for planting next month. The separate pot are a different type, which does not grow so high. 

My cuttings from the fleabane daisies are forming roots in their water, these will go into pots in hope I can have enough plants for daughter's garden. I also have tiny seedlings in the greenhouse, failure is not an option this coming year. 

These are Peony blend Ranunculus, in previous years I have planted their strange roots into the garden and never seen them again, this time they are in cells planted back in December, which they will stay in until they are in bud and ready to flower, then they can be spread around the garden, I have 18 plants here and a couple more in a nice pot. 

My first early seed potatoes are starting to sprout, these won't go into a grow bag until the end of the month, then I can start my second early ones.

I adore this author, normally set in and around Brighton and DCI Roy Grace, this is different, a mother dies and the son is left alone, the story hints to his unusual childhood and the issues he now faces, set in London, people are disappearing and a death in Brighton, it's a clever plot, always you know the son is guilty, but can they capture him. Book 11 read this year. 

I have been helping my sister re-plan a small courtyard area in her garden, our styles are very different, so I hope I have been able to create something she can work with, sadly she did not send me any measurements, so it's all guess work. The planters she will fill with grasses, I suggested she use fleabane daisies along the front, which will hide all the bases of the grasses and look pretty. Her water feature I suggested she get a plastic tub (similar to my pond) and pop in in a matching tall planter. There is a gate at the front end (right side) which lead to a path by the house into the back garden (left side). Using tall planters will give her easy access to her plants, the paving is already down and they won't remove any. 

Tuesday was rain all day, by mid afternoon it was heavy, I spent an hour chatting to my brother via video and made the garden plan above, in the afternoon we watched  Rental Family, with Brendan Fraser, a brilliant film.  I watched Traitors Ireland on Monday afternoon whilst hubby was out, they are arguing all the time, the roundtable is always very animated, the traitors all fell out and two are gone. I've not watched from any other country. I normally would not watch TV in daytime, the wet weather is keeping inside with cabin fever.

I aim for an hour in the greenhouse to sow the sweet peas and check all my other plants, the temperature is reasonable for this time of year, and the greenhouse is much warmer. My greenhouse is already crowded, I need to sort and move things around, its the start of a busy time of year. I had a walk around the garden, I can see snowdrops, crocus and primroses in bloom and loads of leaves for spring bulbs, mostly in my flower beds, my pots with the bulbs purchased last year are also looking good. I do love this time of year, I never remember where the bulbs I have planted are, so everything is a surprise to me.

Now that January is gone and spring feels closer there is hope, I know winter is not over, we can have snow in March, but longer days does wash the winter blues away. I am feeling better, not fully the issues with my tummy linger, I've cut back on any foods which does not help, mostly everything which I love, it's only for a short while. I've not seen daughter or children this week, I do miss them, their laughter and joy bring so much energy to our home. 

Resting

I was expecting a card through the post, who doesn't love it when the letter box clatters with a delivery, this card is so me, garden and birds, both loves of mine. For years I made my own cards, it takes care and thought to make something so beautiful, thank you Angie, I'm glad you loved the socks, thank you for the stamps, they always come in handy.

I love this author, this is set in the future in a changed world, AI is in homes where marriage is monitored, the government want happy families. We follow 5 different people, how they live their lives, living on both sides of the official line, can AI judge people, understand them, very tongue in cheek, I enjoyed it, very different read. Book 10 read this year.

 Last year's amaryllis bulb, I hope this will produce buds, last year I ensured the leaves were left to die back, I popped the bulb in my greenhouse, hoping it got enough sunlight. I started to water it again in December, now all I can do is wait.

My bulbs are still looking good, plenty of blooms, the second amaryllis bud is starting to open, keeping this spot looking good for a while longer. 

I have picked up a bug, not feeling great, I was due to pop to daughters on Saturday so she could take George to a party, but he has a bad cold again, so she kept him at home. The rain once again has kept me inside, the whole of the weekend was reading and watching the birds at our feeders, the foxes are back in next doors garden, no signs of them coming into ours, no signs of any rats either, hopefully Lilly is helping us out. I did listen to the tennis, Alcaraz and Djokovic Australian final on Sunday morning, Carlos winning in 4 sets, which pleased me, I have often said I do not like the arrogance of Djokovic, he is a great player, but I'm still not sure he is the best, give it a few years and his records alongside Nadal and Federer will fall to Alcaraz and Sinner, who both achieving so much at a younger age. 

I have been thinking about my flower beds, mainly I have to wait to see what returns, I did go through all my garden post since our refit to note what I had purchased, working out what grows in our soil. I already know big daisies, dahlias and lupins never return, my hope is not to purchase so many plants this year and ensure any I get will thrive and return in following years. I was surprised in December to see how much I had spent on plants, seeds and bulbs for my flower beds, about £500, I spent the same amount on fixtures and pretty bits, hopefully I won't spend so much this year. These days I am not swayed so much by a pretty flower, I like to check if it's suitable for my soil and climate. 

January round up

Just one crafting spend, the brushes for needle felting, bigger spend in the garden, I am ahead of myself for preparations for spring sowing. The red corners are to show comments, I always add notes showing what I have purchased.

9 Books read this month

Having to purchase a new air-fryer was not the start we planned, and a plumbing bill to fix our shower, lastly a new desktop for hubby, it became an expensive month. 

We took our eye off dates and a couple of food items went into the bin at the start to the month, we don't have so any Christmas bits left and are back to watching dates. 

The extra pounds I put on over Christmas have almost shifted, I still have more to go, I'm not on a diet, I am just cutting back on portion size and treats, I will keep it up in February, I hope to be able to get out and walk more as well. 

End of January

 Finally one of my amaryllis has opened, daughter got me this as a birthday gift, I asked for red, I do love colour at this time of year, there is a second bud on this bulb. My second amaryllis bulb is way behind, I have a couple bulbs in my greenhouse with shoots, hopefully more blooms to come.

My hyacinths have opened, nice white blooms, I purchased these already in their pot from Lidl, they have grown tall, once they go over I will plant then in the garden.

To add inside colour I have put out my fake tulips, I love these they look so real, and feel very spring like, other than my big poinsettia stems which are still out, all the silk seasonal plants are packed away until December. 

I adore turkey leftovers as much as the main meal itself, our crown fed 6 on Sunday, all three children had double helpings, I have loads for cold turkey sandwiches, and another favourite turkey pie, very simple, I shredded the turkey, added loads of cranberry sauce, we like the lumpy one, make a sage and onion stuffing mix and put of top for lid, bake in oven to heat up meat and cook stuffing. I made 4 pies, two for this week, two in the freezer, half of the slices seen here went into the freezer, not bad for just £11.00. 

I have read all Rob Rinder books, all set in the legal system, courts and chambers, everyone involved in huge cases, and always more than one case, here their main case is defending a activist from a murder charge, a crime seen by many people and caught on video, is she a murderous woman or a silly woman caught over her head. Book 9 read this year.

 

We made more great savings this week, we live in a hard water area, we are always fighting limescale, we removed the yellowing seals on our shower cubical and could not clean inside, we managed to track down replacements, I cleaned the edges of the glass panels and hubby cut down the seals, our shower now looks like new at a low cost. Hubby has a cracked tile to replace and some grouting, just small jobs. We have no big DIY plans for us to do this year, we will need to get someone in to sort our wooden floors.

The wind and rain overnight earlier this week from storm Chandra was horrendous, there was local flooding, mainly roads unable to cope with the volume of water, we managed OK, Lilly has become a bit vocal, she loves to be outside, and  is fed up being inside, I understand her frustrations, I feel the same.

Our MP Suella Braverman has defected to Reform party, locally her popularity is very mixed, she is known for jumping on any local success stories whilst being absent from any work, both hubby and I are not happy as we feel if an MP change their party a by-election should be called, I know we vote for the person on the ballot paper, but you do also highly consider the party as well. It's just another case of MP's working for their own agenda rather than the people they were elected to represent. 

Weekend

 I stuck with this book written by a new author to me, it was not the best of reads, set in Edinburgh, the police is using a profiler with extra abilities, some of which was strange, I liked the twist in the plot, which sadly took too long to arrive. Book 7 read this year.

Another author I like, this is a very different plot, after drowning and resuscitation his life changes forever, it's a tale of how he tries to understand what is happening to him, with startling outcomes, his story ending was good, what followed was also good, but the final chapters was strange, it did leave an opening. Book 8 read this year.

I did plant my half price hellebore in the corner by my back flower bed, I think it will look good here, it has white blooms, so it should blend in with the fleabane daisies. Placing it under the Magnolia will give it shade when required, it has plenty of room to grow, I have a good collection of hellebores in this area. The overnight rain washed all the mud from the surrounding slate, it looks as if it's been here for ages. In a perfect scenario we had rain overnight and dry days.

Friday and Saturday were both sunny days, the swirling weather front sitting over Cornwall did not extend to our area, it was cold and breezy, lovely to see blue skies, my greenhouse has been getting warm inside, the seeds and plants are all doing well. I do not heat my greenhouse, I reset this thermometer midweek, so Friday it reached 31° at it's highest and 0° at it's lowest, 12.4° was at 10.00am Saturday, so still warm inside. 

Molly helped me start my sweet-peas on Sunday, she popped her shoes on ready to go to the greenhouse, she was very surprised when I asked her to get the stool to work in our kitchen. I confused her using paper towel and water in a clear tub, she follows instructions very well, I promised I would send photos once the seeds start to grow. Molly also brought her school reading book, she sounded out her words and read her book, she was rightly very pleased with herself.

Friday night we had party food for tea and to nibble with wine whilst watching the final of the traitors, just to make the whole evening a bit more fun, just the two of us. We have loved watching this season, all the changes to keep it fresh, the usual calling at the TV, because we know and can see them misleading each other, I am glad Stephen stayed true to their pact, it was good viewing, he could easily have taken the whole winning prize amount, but deciding to share. Saturday after a day at home, we had homemade pizza for tea, when shopping for the party nibbles we found toppings at a great price, saved ordering a takeaway.

We had our lovely family over for Sunday lunch, whilst shopping in our village we got a larger turkey crown on sale, enough for a family roast dinner, a pie for us, and cold turkey for sandwiches, which I love, the children love chicken and turkey, so we knew it would be a meal they would all want to eat. Hubby made loads of small marmalade cakes, Molly had asked for them, some ate here and some taken home. George gave me a huge cuddle and stayed close all day, I've missed them in the last couple of weeks, they were busy last weekend so we did not see them. I get video calls most evenings with George and Molly,  I love to listen to their chatter, George is getting better with his conversation.  

Getting ready

Hubby needed to pop to B&Q this week, so I had a look at their plants, I always look at the reduced section, these plants were half price, I paid £6 for the hellebore and £2 each for the geums, I always look closely to see if there is new growth, a good indicator the plant is not dead. The geums are inside my greenhouse to let them dry out, they both will go into my side bed, I have a lovely spot for the hellebore once the rain stops. 

My main purchase was seed potatoes, these bags are much smaller than bags sold at our local garden centre, perfect size for just the two of us, the first early are already in an old egg carton tray on the kitchen window sill. I will grow these in bags again, three potatoes in each bag. 

The second necessary purchase was John Innes potting compost, this will be required soon, seedlings and seeds will be started in a few weeks. Whilst I was there I got two boxes of fertilizer, both natural products, which I have used before with great results. 

Soon I will dig out both my composters and hopefully have two bags of compost, enough to see me through to the summer, in previous years I have purchased different compost and mix them, I am confident my compost will be good quality and give my plants a great start. I could sift my own compost for seedlings, but in truth I can't be bothered, maybe next year. 

Most of my flowering plants in the greenhouse are doing well, I have now only 2 guara plants, I have 3 in the garden, I will have less gaps this year. I also have a bucket of carrots which are growing well, would be nice to have an early crop.

We had intended to pop to our favourite garden centre, but decided it wasn't necessary, the café has lovely cakes but is expensive, so we came home and enjoyed hubby's homecooked brownies. Everything above was much cheaper than from any garden centre, often the reduced plants are over watered or just finishing their growing cycle for the season, the shelves were full of different plants, most can be revived. 

Note to myself, the garden is full, no more new bigger plants, will I listen to my own advice, probably not.

Tiny starts

Soon it will be seed sowing time, these are new variety to me, I always like to try new things, most of my seeds are started from February onwards, as are these. I have always had great results with Wilko's seeds and roots, I haven't the space for too many plants. 

I have to start my sweet peas, I had a great success last year for the first time, so again I will soak the seeds for 24 hours and then leave them on wet kitchen roll until I see shoots, then they will go into long root holders in the greenhouse.

I have taken 10 cuttings from my fleabane daises, I need plants for daughters garden, hubby made a raised bed along her side fence, she wants to fill the bed to look the same as mine, I did scatter loads of flower heads over soil in a covered propagator last autumn, there are tiny shoots forming. If I have plants left over I want to pop them along the base of our back fence.  

I have left most of my seeds in the garage, putting off getting them out as it is far too early, most packs came with my subscription Kitchen Garden, which I won't renew next month, I have kept the magazines for reference, they go into more detail than gardening books. I have 26 issues here in this drawer, plus a few other magazines. Most of the unwanted seeds I gifted to our local junior school.

This is my least favourite time of the year, everywhere is dull, grey and dismal, I do get outside in the garden for short periods, and I pop to the greenhouse a couple times a week, I want to be doing things but it is far too early, so I sit and wait, no plans to keep me occupied. Normally I craft, cross stitching or knitting, but neither is calling, I have been reading, my latest book is slow, I really need to decide if I want to know who are the bodies and why they were murdered, it's a good old police based plot, or start another book. I was hoping for a needle felting class, sadly the tutors mum is poorly so the classes are suspended for now. 

I'm so bored I have done all my housework, not my favourite task, I do love to see everywhere clean, we are not untidy, we live in a hard water area, so bathroom gets a wipe down after use to stop the build up of limescale, making it easy to keep clean. Hubby made two soups, carrots and coriander, pea and ham, which is this weeks lunches, and chocolate brownies for our treat.

We have not been out much, rain in January is cold and uninviting, we wrap up to walk to the village trying to avoid getting wet, drive to our local Lidl's for a bigger shop. There is nothing we need or want, so I see no point to going out, our town has shrunk, just a few nice shops, our local outlet is all outside so no fun on wet days, as is Gunwharf Quays in Portsmouth. It was nice to have some sunshine on Tuesday,  still really cold.

Whatcha doing?

These socks have been in my kitting work bag for over a year unfinished, pure laziness, they were not alone I had two other pairs there, all three pairs are now finished and these this week will be winging their way to a new home. The design is mine, I have used left over yarn from other hand made socks, using 4 different shades and the multi coloured

Another good book, a simple task leads to a discovery, you know you are adopted, but now you have a huge new family, with secrets, should you dig deeper. A plot with a double time line which worked well. Book 6 read this year.

I have often said the buds on an amaryllis when opening look alien, this bloom is dark red, I can't wait for these loud blooms to show themselves, my hyacinth is in circle photo, I do not know what colour these blooms will be, they are forming. January is a good month for inside bulbs, I do love to watch their growth, the hyacinth bulbs will go outside in garden once finished. 

I spent some time outside, my main job was to cutback the fleabane daisies in this bed, I did the same last year, keeps them at a tidy size, you can see lots green new growth at the base of the plants. Now I can see the spring bulbs shooting, I also removed 3 clumps of primroses, which were completely hidden, they are now in new spots, they fell apart so I had 5 plants.

Saturday was dry, sunny and not too cold, an hour in the garden pleased me, I managed to weed my side bed, the weeds are tiny and easier to pull, soon spring bulbs will cover the bed. The bed above is looking a bit ragged, my two snowberry plants are doing well, I will cut back the right hand side to allow the other newer plant to grow so they match size. Hubby renewed the wooden perch on my fork handle, I've never seen a bird on it, but I do like to see it. It's a bit like Triggers broom (Only Fools and Horses), the handle was replace a while ago and now a new perch, it belonged to my mum, so it is years old. 

Molly brought home a reading book with words in on Friday, already she knows them, she was very excited to read to us, all three children have a love of books, just like their mummy and me, Will has been unwell this week, he rarely has time off school sick, so they had a lazy weekend at home, George is happy to be together with them all. 

Not forgotten

I do like this author, another great book, just a mum collecting her daughter from university, only she is not there, she has dropped out and told no-one. Mum tries to track her down with surprising results, a brilliant read, Book 3 read this year. 

A new author to me, this was set in USA, two girls are taken, one escapes quickly, it's a year later, one girl is still getting to much attention, the other is forgotten. A series of events sends the older sister of the missing girl on a path, she is collecting information, can she find what happened to her little sister, this book kept me in the dark until almost the end, brilliant read. Book 4 read this year.

I enjoyed the previous book so I stuck with the same author, as a documentary creator you help innocent people to be freed from jail, its noble to go through evidence and have experts find errors in court cases. This book walks you through a perfect case, it's all going great until it isn't, what next. Book 5 read this year. 

A while ago I had this pebble painted, it's my Grace, the artist has made a perfect image of her, just a small simple thing placed beside my desk, I smile every time I see it. I recently asked the same artist if she would create Frankie for daughter, again it's a perfect image, daughter loves hers as much as I love mine. Oh to have the talent to paint such beautiful lifelike images. 

My 1st amaryllis bud is about to open, the second bud on the same bulb has started to grow taller, the 2nd bulb has a tiny shoot forming, as does one of last years I have back inside, so these huge blooms will give me joy, the red one should open first. 

We did pop out once this week to daughters side of town, met her in Dunelm for a coffee, nice treat, hubby got the couple of bits he wanted, then on to B&M, not my favourite shop but a few bits we needed including cat food. In both shops we saw, Christmas items on sale, January sale items, Valentines day bits and Easter eggs, what a mixture, we walked by it all, I did get a pair of wire brushes, which I can use for my needle felting, I am planning a new project. 

Once again I have asked hubby for smaller portions, they were creeping up again, he is now cutting back on what he cooks, in our last food shop I did not get any treats, chocolate, biscuits or crisp, hubby has made his first homemade cake of the year, this time a lemon drizzle using the lemons we already had. I have already shifted the few pounds I put on in the final weeks of December. I hope to be able to walk more, but at this time it's just so wet and I really don't want to be out getting cold and wet. 

January blues

 More weird things happening here, firstly the strange inside tree has gone, she spent a day packing everything away, I still have no idea what it was for. I did have a new toy which was under it with other colourful things. This is my favourite place to be inside.

Something mad happened this month, we had white cold stuff falling from the sky, not like rain which I hate, it did not last long, I loved it, I don't feel the cold, so I played outside for ages, the squirrels were running around everywhere, I sat in the tree watching them.

They got me this new toy, I do love a ball, this one has a mouse inside, which I can't get, BUT it makes a strange squeak when I play with it, I don't like the squeak, she keeps trying to encourage me, I hope she can make the squeak go away.

The little ones on their visit were sad earlier in the month, I could tell, I played close to them, they wanted to stroke and cuddle me, I'm not good at cuddles, but I let them. Molly drew me a picture of my brother Frankie, I did sit on their mum's lap, I've never done that before. 

I found a brilliant new game, every night he gets his clean clothes out of the walk-in wardrobe, so one night I snuck in waited a short while, the light went off, THEN I pounced out of the doors, great fun, sadly they did not enjoy it as much as me. He now checks every time to ensure I'm not hiding. 

Recently it has been non stop rain, so I sit on a rug by the patio doors looking out at the garden, often she stands beside and agrees that she is missing being outside as well, she has promised me the lovely sunny days will return.