March round up

 Still no craft spending, I am enjoying knitting my scrappy blanket, garden spend was good. I did purchase two new pairs of shorts.

8 Books read in March.

Lilly had her visit to the vets, almost £100, its not cheap having pets, we had budgeted for it, no issues, she is a good weight.

I dug out 2 bags of compost from one composter this month, there were a few woody bits in there, I'm really pleased with the quality, I always need compost.

We did purchase a new steam floor cleaner and a separate handheld, I had steam mops before, this time we chose a floor cleaner, slightly sturdier, I struggle cleaning our wooden floors, my knees and back are complaining. Nothing else required, we managed to save a bit extra this month.

We are the same with food waste, we have popped the council small bin close by, for all the bits we don't compost, I had to remind hubby to still use my compost tub, he was putting bits in the council bin, I am again saving coffee grounds, I only save them in warmer months to use in our garden. 

I'm still struggling with my weight, I have put on 8 pounds over the winter months, gone up a size in trousers, I have not changed much, maybe not as active as before. 

As March fades

Easter has arrived here, I don't have too much, just enough to keep George and Molly happy, we have everything for their egg hunt, all hidden away for now, just hoping for good weather.

I had a long overdue sort out of my ceramic pots, these are for houseplants, I have no idea how I have so many pots, these have been cleaned and I have listed them on local Facebook marketplace, I don't think they will sell, so I will probably pop them to a charity shop. I still have a few left, which I like and will keep.

George has settled into calling me each evening at bedtime, they are allowed to stay up later in school holidays, we chat for 5 minutes as he settles, we chat about his day, he tells me his type of jokes, then he says goodnight and ends the video call, I look forward to a call everyday. Often all I can see is the top of his head.

Since Christmas Molly has been making me bracelets and now a necklace, she adores beads and making things, I visited a new shop in our area All over the world, which I loved, so many nice bits, we were very happy we could get her a few more tubs of beads.

Another new shop to our location is Hotel Chocolat, we both love their choice of flavours, it would be rude to visit the store and not bring anything home, these will last us ages, plus the store has a small bistro, making it a nice place to stop for refreshments.

Friday we popped to our local out of town shopping at Whitley, J9, M27, hubby needed a visit to M&S, and a stroll, it's an outside space which we do like, hubby got his new socks, I did pop into Flying Tiger but preferred the new store All over the world. Later 17 of us went for a Chinese meal, it's an all you can eat place, if you chose well you can get a decent meal, they are very popular and now have added more tables and chairs, we were at the back of the huge dining room, and it was a maze to get to the serving area. Having said that the conversation was fun, but on the whole it was very loud. 

Saturday we had a day at home, I pottered outside and in the greenhouse, I have planted 5 foxgloves and 4 aquilegia in their final places, and taken more plants out of the greenhouse to harden off. I had a coffee with our neighbour, I took a couple bolted cabbages to her chickens, later I did some knitting, we tested our brains with the 1% club on TV and remembered (well hubby did) to change the few clocks not linked to the internet. 

Sunday was dull and cloudy, shame we can't get two sunny days in a row, I still did my very quick (it's a small area) walk around the garden, with Lilly she is often beside me when outside. We did go for a small walk, the wind again was really cold.

Today I have very little planned, it's again dull with a few storms due, so a day inside, I have been a bit lazy and have loads of ends to sew in on my blanket.

It's been a boring restful weekend, daughter stayed at home with the children, she sorted Will's bedroom (it was a mess) and did some gardening, mowed the lawn, George and Molly happily played outside, they were both very tired last week at school and needed a gentler pace, we hope to see them this week.

Just looking

 Whilst I love our garden, 

I do love to see pockets of colourful joy. 

Just spots where you stop and enjoy the moment

Soon the tulips will burst into flower, 

I only grow them in pots, they rot in our heavy clay soil. 

It has been a very windy few days, our garden has not had any damage, we keep everything low and the leaves are not formed on our trees yet. The huge elderflower 'plants' next door always takes a bashing from the wind, one has gone over and now at an angle away from the fence, which gives our magnolia tree some space, makes our space feel lighter. 

I do love huge pots, where I can mix plants to allow flowers throughout the year, and use different compost to grow plants which would not grow in the ground, the pots hide bare corners, end flower beds, and soften seating areas, hubby laughs at me as I do love to dress our garden, not too much. This year I have very little to add to this space, it's just a case of waiting for the plants to return enjoying the space we have created.

Inside

 My knitting is growing, I love the look, I have no use for another blanket, I have a few crochet ones, I will check them and maybe discard one. I have completed 17 pattern rows and used half of one ball of black, so I can do up to about 70 pattern rows, I still have plenty of coloured yarn left.

I have read books from this author before, another great book, I do love a good thriller, 3 couples all on holiday, all very different, thrown together when a woman is murdered, past lives catching up with them, lies, back home and things are still strange. Book 26 read this year.

I chose this book as it was free on my Kindle, same police officer as in previous book, a fall from a balcony, was it an accident, and why are all the new mums acting so strange, with a good insight into how the police follows through a case. Book 27 read this year.

My last magazine arrived this week, I won't renew the subscription, I have 24 copies saved for reference, I do like this practical magazine. Most of the free seeds were gifted to local schools.

17 years ago, we decided to have wooden floors in our hall and main living area, slate in downstairs bathroom, vinyl in the kitchen and laminate in our office (3rd bedroom), there was already tiles on our en-suite, these days my knees and back complain after washing them. So after a search through countless steam floor mops, we got this Shark, the two round pads spin and work together to scrub the floors, with three levels, super easy to use, every part of me is happy. This is not an ad, just my views on an item which works well for me.

It's been cooler and dull this week, so housework was done, I also got a new handheld steam cleaner, I used it on my clean shower, it got to places where my cloth could never reach, spring cleaning is going well here. For once nothing aches, I was able to do more in one session.

I did pick George and Molly up from school on Tuesday, daughter attended Will's school, his class had a project they wanted to share with parents, both little ones were good in my car, after tea mummy went back to their school for parents evening, Molly's teacher gave her a glowing report, Molly loves school and is doing well, she is still only 4 and has done so well. Georges teacher was happy with him, he is on his own path, different from his peers, he does try, but he does like to play as well. Again daughter was very happy, we chatted for ages, having 3 happy children makes her life much nicer, for now Will has stopped playing up in the mornings. 

I have picked up bugs again, George has a cold, he is a cuddly boy and loves his nana, I'm hoping I can shift the bugs quickly, I'm cold and tired all the time, yesterday was a lazy day and should be the same today.

Glasshouse

 I've cleared the plastic greenhouse cover away and moved the frame back to use as shelves, this space is busy at this time of year. I need to try and clear all the fallen leaves from the back of the greenhouse, it's along our neighbours fence and a struggle to get to.

My peanuts are growing, I have ten plants so far, which should be enough, they will be grown in two bags and kept here inside the greenhouse, they need a hot sunny space. Molly wanted to start some more, they are shooting, when she next comes here we can start them in compost.

I have loads growing, I snipped the growing tops off my sweet-peas, they are now filling out.

More guara cutting in hope to have loads of the wonderful plants, on lower shelf is fleabane daisies for daughters garden. I have sown some saved french marigold seeds as well.

My daffodils are going over, I have cut the heads off them and have tied some of the smaller bunches, it's important to allow the leaves to die back on the bulb, this process gives the bulb their energy for next year. I have bluebell and camassia buds showing, the colour keeps coming. I shall move some of the pots with bulbs in as they go over, they live behind the garage the rest of the year. 

We have picked the first of our rhubarb, made a crumble with apples, we both enjoyed it, it's always the first harvest of the year, it is an early variety, I have a wire ring around the crown, which I fill with fallen leaves, they protect it through the winter and once broken down nourishes the soil.  

I got some stone (pebble) edging to cover my pond sides, the stones are small and I was worried about the 'glue' used, so I have used them elsewhere, I really do not want to damage the ecology of the pond. 

Days are now dull, the wind is much colder, so the garden seating stays covered, I still check the garden every morning, watching the separated plants growing in their new spots. Hopefully the better weather will return soon. 

Lazy days

 We had an us day on Thursday, firstly in our local town we did some pottery painting, both deciding to decorate a mug, hubby had no idea what to do and looked in their corner of aids to decorate. I do like his, he is very pleased.

I knew how I was going to decorate mine, I took loads of Q-tips to make dots, mine does look busy, will have to wait and see how it turns out, I forgot they had the fineline colours, which would have made it better. 

We also popped into Waterstones, I still had a gift card from Christmas, the gardening year is a book to add notes throughout the year, it has space for 5 years of notes, each month has 5 pages allowing a weekly entry, I will start it on 1st of April, the wildflower book was very pretty and a complete indulgence for me, I only had to pay £3 for both books.

Another new author, I enjoyed this clever book, another story where the outcome is hiding in plain sight, after a horrendous marriage and the death of the husband, she starts to engage with village life, making new friends, but at home in her cottage strange things happen. Book 25 read this year.

We had planned lunch out on Thursday, but we were not that hungry after having a mid morning coffee and cake, so we came home and had an early evening meal. I spent time outside in garden, not doing much, just enjoying the sunshine. Friday we did some other end of town shopping and popped to daughters house, Molly had her swimming lesson after school, George had ran around the last couple of times creating havoc, so we sat with the boys whilst mummy watched Molly swim. 

Saturday more time outside, I planted a new grass in Kurt's head, the last plant died, hubby has drilled a couple more drainage holes, the wind is still cool. Sunday was another day of rest, more laundry was done, I sat at watched wildlife, there are loads of butterflies and huge bee's this spring, The small birds are nesting, Magpies hover hoping to get to their nest, I always make a noise when I see them to move them on. Having very little to do in the garden is very new to me, I'm not good at sitting still. It's gotten much cooler this afternoon and cloudy, shame, it was nice whilst it lasted. 

We both needed a few of rest days, each suffering with back ache due to the tasks completed on Wednesday, we have had a couple of early nights, we are now both awake at 6am, a bit too early for me to get up. I'm feeling rested as is hubby, sometimes you have to avoid everything and look after yourself. Luckily George is behaving a bit better, daughter took them to the park for 3 hours to play with their friends, so a great weekend all round. 

This life

 This is Lola, she is my mum and lives with the small people, my human visits often and comes back smelling of her, they are still missing Frankie, my brother. I have the same lighter patch around my mouth, I am the closest in the litter to looking like her.

I can just about fit into my spot here, I'm tucked behind the sofa, I can still see all of our garden.

The nicer weather she promised me has arrived, not everyday, so I am outside more often, I love the garden.

I have been climbing on the fence beside the messy garden, there are lots to watch, a fox lays on the summerhouse roof at the bottom, he is big and watches me, she has shouted at the fox twice as it started to move towards me. She tells me to stay away, I do like to watch everything, I an very nosey, she watches me when I'm on this fence. I don't climb on the other fence, the nice ladies big dogs bark at me.

I now leave the garden, always over our back fence, there is nothing scary there, I'm never gone for long, she was threatening to pop a camera on my collar.

I was very unhappy when they put me in my carrier earlier in the month, I thought I was going to the cattery, I like Jackie, but I don't like staying in a cage for so long. They took me to the vets, after a wait sat close to too many dogs, I was let out my carrier, the vet said my weight was good, she listened to my heart and lungs and gave me a jab, last time I was here I got a treat, maybe this time she forgot, they gave me treats once I got home as apparently I passed with flying colours. Ask Janice at Jabblog, if you want to know what that means, she has done some great post about such sayings.

Spring bulbs

 Last year I purchased some different bulbs, all popped into pots, I'm happy with these blooms, it's good to see something new to me along with old favourites, these have not all bloomed at the same time, bulbs are an important source of colour and nectar at this time of year.

The pots of spring bulbs look good in front of this bed, they add welcome colour. In the back right corner my forsythia I moved last year is full of yellow buds, I hope to keep it the same size as the Chinese witch hazel in the other back corner.

The fleabane daisies are starting to grow and will soon fill this bed, the hyacinth bulbs in the middle add colour, the new flowering plants in the chimneys are doing well, I'm just waiting for the astilbe to come back in the centre back, then the look will be complete. 

The seating is now back being used this warm sunny weather has started our garden living, this year is about enjoying the outside space we have created, no big or even little jobs, I shall have to learn how to sit and rest. Tuesday we sat outside to eat our lunch, first time this year, we both have everything crossed for a good summer, again we had lunch outside on Wednesday, by early afternoon the sun is behind our neighbours house and it's too cool to sit anymore. I dug out my oldest composter, I now have 2 bags of good compost, hubby cleaned all the gutters and then the windows, both dirty jobs, so an early shower and relax inside.

Both my acers are in full bud, the triple at the back now has small leaves forming, I have 4 forsythia bushes, they are all in bud as is my pomegranate. The strong winds blew off the few remaining buds on our magnolia tree, leaves are now forming, often this tree flowers throughout the year, so I have hope to see plenty pink blooms in the coming months.

This week I found a frog hiding in one of the grasses around my wildlife pond, I am beyond happy, it was the correct thing to wait for creatures to arrive naturally, we decided to leave the pond as it is, I was going to try and raise the front corner, best not to disturb anything.

I popped to daughters so she could attend Will's parents evening, he does not enjoy a couple of lessons at the moment, and can be difficult on mornings when he does not want to go, it's hard for daughter, but she insist he has to go to school, anyway, mummy came back happy, he is doing well, his teacher and school are very supportive and are actively helping to get him back to loving school, whilst his attendance has dropped his work levels have not.

Fruits

 Fruits are a perfect crop for a small garden, most of the berries grow up, therefore not taking to much soil space, my raspberries are showing, I have made a bigger frame for them to grow up with chicken wire over the rounded tops, in hope of make harvesting easier. I already had everything I required to make this tunnel, I have planted a few new roots, which popped up elsewhere in the garden. I have some flowers in this bed to help keep it looking good. The obelisk is no staying here.

My strawberry tower is full of new growth, I feed these each spring, I'm hoping for another bumper crop this summer. I moved my blueberry tub to the other end of this bed, it gets sunshine most of the day, I have cut them right back, so I'm not expecting a bumper crop this summer, they fruit on second years growth. My rhubarb in the middle is almost ready to pick, this is it's third year, it's looking healthy. In front is a small gooseberry bush, again it's the third year, as yet we have not had any fruits, I'm hopeful for this summer.

I trimmed back the blackberries, these are perfect along the garage walls, these were one of the first fruits planted and is a thornless variety, doesn't look much now, it will fill out soon. The vine runs along the side and back walls. 

Fruits are very easy to grow once established, most only require a trim or cutting back at the end of the season. Last year I used small net bags over the strawberries to stop them being nibbled, which worked, I will need a net for my blueberries, I don't cover the raspberries or blackberries, the birds don't take too many, so I'm happy to share. The only fruit I don't have is an apple tree, we both love braeburn, they are sharp and crunchy, good for eating and cooking, I have looking into a miniature for growing in a pot, but I don't think its practical in our small garden. Last year daughter was given a big bag of windfall apples which we used, we have some in the freezer.

We were woken up in the early hours of Sunday morning, a crash and then foxes screaming, at first we thought they were in our garden, later we found our fence panel was broken, on checking (looking over the fence) loads of pots and rubbish all thrown beside our panel had been knocked over, we now have one part of the panel broken, hubby was able to fix the hole to stop it breaking further. It's on mad cat woman's side, so no point is saying anything, we would only get abuse back, she considers it's her boundary and the fence is hers, regardless of the fact we paid for it. 

Monday I sorted my side of our garage, I've popped loads of my bits back outside, the children will love finding all my resin animals, it was cool and dry. We did pop to lidl for a food shop, the total was again higher than expected,  the prices are not slowing, I do feel for low income families, having said that we are on a fixed income but thankful for our private pensions. 

Mothering Sunday

Saturday late morning I walked to our village monthly craft market, there are so many different stalls, a couple have become our favourite, with buskers and our local rock choir, the butcher did a BBQ, it was busy which is good. Recently our sell everything shop shut down, the landlords put the rent up too much for the business to survive, shame it was a useful shop, the village still has decent shops open, keeping it alive.

 Normally hubby gets me a plant as my gift, we choose one together for the garden, this year I asked him for these rings, he got me six, they are a perfect size for my veg bags, he cut down six supports which they fit on. A perfect solution to keep Lilly from using my bags as her toilet, shown here in my potato bags, also a good plant support.

I do love to receive cards, the one from hubby has been used for the past 4 years, I was beyond pleased to see inside the card from the children, I have always said I love big writing made by small hands, and for the first time ever George has tried to write his name instead of a scribble. 

We were able to have some time outside, Molly checked loads of bags and pots, she found my first early potatoes were sprouting and will need topping up soon, my peanuts are sprouting as seen in photo below, and lots of spring bulbs. The bikes, scooters and balls all came out to play, they had great fun running around for an hour.  

Hubby was out on Saturday until mid afternoon, so I had the laziest of starts, followed by a do nothing day, just what I needed, I did not do any gardening, I walked to village and later to our local park, beautiful cold sunny day. Much later we walked to the village to get everything for Sunday lunch, our evening we had pizza for tea with a glass of red wine I did a bit of knitting on my scrappy blanket. 

Sunday was another sunny blue sky, still cold, daughter and children visited, we got small gifts for each child to give her and a card, lunch was KFC style chicken in rolls, except for Molly who had breaded chicken, followed by fresh fruit (not grown by me, too early) and ice cream, a dairy free one for Molly and George. They went home early afternoon, which now gives us time to relax, I am going to get my knitting needles out, it's gone cloudy and we were promised the tail end of the storm floating across the UK. 

I hope if you are celebrating today, you are having a good day as well, it's been a great weekend. 

Scrappy blanket

 I'm rather pleased with my knitting, it's growing, I still have a few different shades to use, I have completed 7 sets and will do another 2 before reusing shades. This is one end, the clips are only used to hold the ends flat for these photo's. 

The middle section

The other end.

I am enjoying the colours on this, normally I would stress about placement of colours, this time I'm relaxed about them, there are 10 coloured patches on each row, with 26 stitches, I knit and turn on decreasing stitches to make the design, on the second row there are 9 full coloured patches and a half design each end, I am doing the half sections in an off white yarn so they all match. I am using all my 4ply stash yarn, only balls which have been started, I'm knitting using 3.25 circular needles, I have worked a system to ensure all the different yarns don't get too tangled. I've been really good and stitch all the ends in after each row, this is 8" or 20cms, so a long way to go. The real pleasure in this design is allowing me to use all of my 4ply yarns, some are slightly thicker, but it does not matter.

The boiler service man arrived at 8am on Thursday, we were ready for him, we always have to move the fridge/freezer to give him room to work, it was the same guy as in previous years, he was quick, clean and tidy, happily no issues to report. I had a sleepover at daughters on Thursday night, helping out with bedtime and breakfast on Friday morning, I missed this month's WI meeting, family will always come first.

Friday Will was happy to go to school, no disliked lessons that day, sadly George has mirrored Will's behaviour and daughter struggled to get him in the car, at school his 1 to 1 will come and help on bad mornings, they park in school grounds. Having a second person to help makes all the difference, both little ones get their me time and settle quicker at bedtime, George is at a stage where he knows what he wants, sadly he's not always able to achieve it by himself, he is mirroring Will, who at 9 years is going through an independent stage and not liking a couple of his school lessons, some mornings he can be difficult. Molly is still only 4, she is independent in most things, but still wants and needs her mum. As I have said before both schools are brilliant help, together we will get through this, we just need to support our daughter, I never want her to feel alone.

I'm posting this on Friday evening, I plan a lovely lie in tomorrow morning and have a me time, it's much needed.

Mid March

This year I have found almost all the buds from our magnolia tree on the ground, we had only a few flowers and most of them are here, I have been reading up on any issues which would cause this, hubby thinks it the squirrels, we saw one came on the tree and broke another bud off and chewed it, blasted furry pest.

It is a real disappointment to see this beautiful tree bare, it was a young tree already in the garden when we moved here 17 years ago, we do keep it a small size, it was lopped almost two years ago, other trees in the area are full of pink blooms. The leaves always form after the blooms. 

 This is the third book I have read from this author, not my favourite plot, a dysfunctional fragmented family get together for nan's 80th birthday, what could go wrong. Book 22 read this year.

My daughter suggested I read this book, a new author to me, a brief affair and a pact to murder each others spouse, is it ever a good idea, even if you have a better plan. I could not put this book down, book 23 read this year.

Another great book, family is everything if you all get on, the story follows 4 different women, 2 sets of "mother and daughters", it unpicks lives lived and how not to meddle with others. Book 24 read this year.

It's been a nothing week, the weather reverting back cooler, we have seen some nice sunshine, we have both spent loads of time reading and listening to music, our smart speaker will play anything we like, normally from 70's and 80's.

Monday I deep cleaned our downstairs bathroom, I plan to deep clean a different room each week, I have already done our bedroom and en-suite, I also did more work on my 2025 blog book and some knitting on my blanket. Tuesday I worked in the greenhouse, sorting small plants into bigger pots, my peanuts looks to be growing, finger crossed I get them to plants. Soon I will have loads of plants to go outside, making space for seed trays. 

Wednesday I spent morning with daughter, she was feeling blue after a couple of hard days with George, who has been getting upset and not able to say why. For much of the time, as a single mum she is on her own, school is being really helpful, what we all require is him to take test for autism, daughter and I both believe he is showing many markers. Will and Molly both try to be good, but at 9 and almost 5, they are both still very young, we help as much as we can, daughter needs as much support as she can get, sadly her soon to be ex has moved to Europe and sees less of them, so no physical support. 

Today the rain is due with vengeance, it's cold for us, no sunshine, so a day inside, we have our boiler service due this morning, it's only a few years old so not expecting any issues, I will do an clean up stairs, then relaxing.

Wildlife pond

I have been working on my pond, not the garden around, that has been great this spring. My pond last summer had loads of slimy weeds, which wrapped around plants and floated across the surface, making the water messy. Firstly I purchased a barley hay bundle to pop into the water, which helped, next I got a small pump and two air-stones to oxygenate the pond, I did not want lot's of gushing water. I need to move plants along the back to try and hide the container.

Spring flowers, daffodils and cyclamens, I can see buds on other plants, the grasses are looking good, I do need to raise the front corner, it has dropped, it has always been the lowest corner, the water level at the back is an inch lower then I want it. It has become the drinking spot for Lilly, she sits in the same spot as Grace sat, I keep fresh water inside, Lilly is not interested, I have tried filtered and rainwater, she still prefers to drink from the pond.

Finding a newt and then a second one in the pond has cheered me up, I have seen a couple water snails as well, I did check, newts love grasses and wood piles to hide in, I have both in this back corner. I do love the collection of pebble around this pond, they have been collected over the years for use around my garden, I just pulled them all back to here. 

Hubby spent his time on cleaning the patio, he wanted to get it done using his power washer with a special attachment, it was tiring rather than hard work he told me, he also uncovered the garden furniture, I moved my spring pots to along the slate by the lawn, we can still see them from the house. 

Most of the time the pond requires no work from me, I wanted it to become a natural environment, without chemicals or other foreign additions, I was desperate for frogs, but decided rather than adding any myself, I would wait and see, it was never my intention to have fish here, they eat too much of the wildlife I wanted to attract. The small garden around the pond has settled, this is a sunny spot for part of the day.

Our garden is now ready for spring, purchasing the growing bulbs helps me fill bare spots, I am completely happy with our spring garden, I can see so many buds on shrubs, so much promise. A couple wet days were good for any new plants, it also gave my back time to rest and relax.

Saturday was dull as expected, everywhere was still wet from the rain, we did walk to the village for a few bits, I did some knitting and then read later, hubby made a lovely mushroom risotto for tea, a lazy day. Sunday we had Will and George early, mummy and Molly went to a party, they were back for lunch, we all spent the afternoon together, later after a quick tidy up, packing away all George's cars we sat and read.