Flowering

 Just one last bloom, stunning. 

More buds on plant in bathroom. 

Homegrown daffodils, 

 these from the front garden, the wind and rain had battered them.

A sneaky purchase at Tesco.

I have read this author before, the plot was very deliberately slow, it took me longer to read, the plot opened up the life of a recluse artist after her death, there wasn't a dramatic twist, everything was revealed throughout the plot. Book 14 read this year.   

Another author I like, set in Ireland, a boy is dead, another charged with his murder, the dead boys friends are all sticking to the same story, DCI Reynolds is asked to have a second look. I enjoyed the plot, nice twist at the end. Book 15 read this year.

Friday turned into a good day, car passed MOT with no issues, it was dry whilst we were in town, I had previously sorted my jewellery box, I have so much I don't wear and daughter did not want any of it, so I took some to a pawn shop, £360 for gold, £35 for silver.

Saturday was dry, so an hour outside in the garden, I had to redo the netting on one veg bed, Lilly had found a way in, did a bit of cutting back, and a general tidy around, as always it felt so good to be outside. The automatic greenhouse window opened for the first time this year, it was warm inside. I've a couple of huge pots which are empty, I would like to use them in the front flower section of the garden, I have enough plants for them, I hope to swap out a few smaller pots, they have been increasing over the winter. 

We got some Chinese dishes from Tesco which we heated at home for our tea, opened a bottle of prosecco, again we re-used our cards, it's the 5th year, no flowers or gifts to each other. We did get red tulips and a card for the little ones to give their mum, daughter was happy.  We read most of the evening, only watching The 1% club on TV, which we love.

Sunday back to rain, it was dark and grey from the start, it did not stop raining, so a day inside, I did some more on my 2025 book, a bit of knitting and more reading. It's half term here, so we will have days with children, all three have separate hospital check ups on different days, so mummy will drop the others here on the way. 

Red and white

My cactus in our downstairs bathroom is full of blooms again, I love this plant, the shade of pink is very striking, I feed it twice a year and water it when dry, it loves this sunny window sill. I have another small white blooms plant and a few cuttings in the greenhouse. 

I got a couple new plants, a second white blooms cactus and a white Christmas rose (hellebore), these are for my Christmas greenery display, I will mix a couple fake items here as well, I try and change things around each year.

 I knew I was going to get this book, I follow Charlie Mackesy on Instagram, he is a gentle soul, I have his first book, I love his style, I hope to be able to give both books to Molly in years to come.

This was a strange plot, a lady working for a charity answering calls to help souls struggling with their lives, what type of help, it quickly became about just one man, what had she done to him, the story unfolded with twist. It kept going with additions to the plot, when you think it's done another level is added. Book 76 read this year.

You move to a new house make friends with two unlikely neighbours, you can't work out why they are friends, as always the story unfolds in layers with a back story. I guessed by half way who's backstory it was, then it twisted into an even better plot. Brilliant book. Book 77 read this year.

I have been shopping a couple of time in the week, Wednesday with daughter, she helped me choose the final bits for the children's gifts, I also got a few craft things for them to do the week before Christmas, it should help with their excitement. On Thursday I popped out with hubby we each chose our main gift, he had slippers and me PJ's, not exciting but what we wanted, we agreed we would get one smaller surprise gift for each other, but as yet I have no idea what to get him, we are not doing our stockings this year, they were becoming full of chocolate and sweets, not good for the waist line. 

I have had an email from the printers I use hinting they are giving a big discount for Black Friday, so I have been reading 2023 again, I'm almost half way through, it will be ready to print.

I have found a 10 stitch crochet blanket to make, I will use my double knitting yarn from my stash, it's using Tunisian stitch which I do love and should be a simple task, I have no reason to make it, just to use my time and stash. I have also got a few needle felting things to make, these need to be done by the end of the month, which is plenty of time.

The force of  storm Claudia missed us on Friday, it was cold, wet and windy, nothing too bad, we stayed inside all day, Saturday was blue skies and bright, laundry dried outside, I picked up leaves again, did a bit of housework, nothing exciting, these are dull days. We did walk to our monthly craft market, I got a gift for my brother, its nice to see different things.

Inside

I do love how this plant gives me flowers all through the year, I have recently moved it from the bathroom to the kitchen window sill, it's a compact plant and will sit better here, it is still on the same sunny wall.

Back in January Lilly had a go at this spider plant and bit off the babies, it was popped on the kitchen window sill where Lilly does not go, it's now looking good, I have moved it to a different spot in the bathroom, there is space here for any babies to hang, I can see two forming, and Lilly can't get to it. 

I found a plant for hubby's pot, it was in another pot in this spot, it works well and has plenty of root space. Shaun the sheep has lived on this shelf for years. 

The plant I moved from Betty's head is settling into it's new bigger pot, there is new growth, I have raised it so his hair can fall, it will look better once more has grown. I would like a nicer stand, if I can find one I like, I got this new plant when in Lidl's, hubby did not realise it was a house plant, hubby is not keen on too many plants around the house. I would love to pop him in our shower room upstairs, but I don't think I would get away with it, still I might try.

My 4 plants here are doing well and getting huge, I don't do much to these plants, I have only changed the soil once, I do feed a couple times a year, I have had most of these plants since 2021. The Haworthia Cooperi in the round metal pot is a baby from my original plant, the mother plant got huge so she lives in the greenhouse, this spring I have 2 lovely babies. My pregnant onion is in the greenhouse, it released loads of sap, making my desk top sticky, it seams happy in there. 

Betty is moved to the back wall of my office, I'm not happy with her fake hair, I struggle to grow hair her pot is not very big, for now she is where I can still see her. 

Another plant coming back to life is Albuca Spiralis Frizzle Sizzle, I popped both plants back into the greenhouse to rest for a while, I have two because a second bulb grew from the first, I have repotted them and watching closely for new growth and maybe flowers.

I am going to say it, it's just too hot to do much, we sit outside in the shade more, our seating is very comfortable and cool, Lilly is the same, she rest inside near our open patio door to catch any breeze, I am still saving water from the kitchen sink, Southern Water has stated we are on course for a hosepipe ban later in the summer.

Daughter took me out for lunch on Wednesday,  a very late Mothers day treat, we went to  courtyard bistro, only 15 minutes drive from us, it was lovely, great fresh food, I promised hubby we would go back next week, sadly it's just a bit too far to walk there in this heat.

Thursday we enjoyed the lovely weather in the garden, Friday hubby spent the day DIYing at daughters house, daughter and I with Molly went shopping at Dunelm and B&M, both huge stores with great air-conditioning. Today is our Gala at our castle, its always a fantastic family day, daughter will be here with her 3, we are going to miss it as its far too hot for any of us, there is almost no shade there or on the walk to and from.

Just rain

With so many negative things happening in our world today, 

I though I should pop this back up.

We did have a huge sort out under our stairs, which is accessed from our office, before there were toys tubs, wine and shoe racks and coats hung up. Now we have sorted and removed all the toys, these seen here are for the charity shop in the village, most are not played with anymore, I sorted the shelves in our sitting room behind our sofa, it now contains all the books, puzzles and toys the little ones love. Now is a very good time to donate toys and unwanted gifts.

I am so pleased the buds have not fallen off this cactus, and are opening.

My new Amaryllis is grown loads in it's glass pot, the Paperwhite Grandiflora narcissus are shooting in the second glass pot, not a perfect fit, I'm just so glad I already had a glass pot, the Amaryllis in the white pot is a bulb from last year, I repotted 7, this is the only one showing life, a few have already died, it does look as if they are only leaves, normally the flower stalk is the first to show. 

Hubby's eye is much improved, he can see much better, which makes me happy, his eye still aches with all the things he had done, he's improving which is the bonus, his older brother is still in hospital, he had another huge operation on his leg and hip, in hope this time everything will heal, which in turn will allow him home. The funeral of his BIL has happened, his sister is doing well, it was very small, due to the distance and so many having aliments and unable to travel. 

My sister went home on Saturday, allowing her partner to have Sunday resting, before he's back to work on Monday, we had loads of time together, lots of chatter, not much crafting, we love different crafts these days. 

Nothing much is happening here, I'm not reading, just busy with my brothers lap blanket, we did all the laundry over the weekend, Monday we popped to town for fruit and veg, got a few more Christmas gifts, it rained in the afternoon, not heavy, at least it's not snow, just a heavy frost overnight. I've started giving my Christmas cakes their drink of brandy, two get 4 drinks, daughters cake only has two, the little people love my cake, so I prefer not to have it too boozy. I have watched all the first series of Wolf Hall and loved it, we are now watching Ludwig, again another good show, it's a very clever storyline. Zoe Ball is finishing radio 2 breakfast show in December, with Scott Mills taken over in January, we are both happy with that, Zoe has done a brilliant job for 6 years, PS, I have a sore throat and sniffles, I'm hoping it passes quickly.

We received our first Christmas card through the post, it can stay in its envelope until December 1st, far to early.

Additions

This cactus is in full bloom and looks stunning in our bathroom, it loves this spot, I look forward each year to see it bloom once more.

I've been adding to my house plants, I have purchased an Amaryllis bulb in a glass before, it grows well, this should bloom white, once it's finished I will use the glass for candles in the garden. I did not have a white blooming cactus, so I've put that right, the cyclamen is very unusual blooms.  

A yellow rose outside.

I have cyclamen outside, I do love these plants, these can be seen from my chair, giving me colour in my view. I do dead head them often to keep the blooms coming.

These are the last two pots, the top pot is brilliant, the lower pot has pansies in, I have had a few blooms, but the plant is now growing rather then blooming, which is OK, colour to come. 

These sunny blue sky days are such a joy, it's much colder, but I don't mind it at all, you can always wrap up warm, cold and wet is a different matter. I did get outside for a while yesterday, I got the bark I wanted to go around the Olive tree, the rest went on the square garden, not really deep enough, but as they say every little helps. 

I took my sister to our favourite garden centre an got a few things from their inside food shop, we went to B&Q for the bark, I got an half price plant, just £3.50, spotted the till over charged me £5 on the bag of bark, which was put right and then to Home Bargains, nice shopping trip. The plant, Saxifrage, dancing pixies thea, with a lovely white flower are late season blooms, which will help with colour at this time of year.

It's that time

 I am later making my christmas cakes this year, again I have three to make, as yet I have not decided what size to make for our daughter, I need to chat to her and find out if the little ones still eat it, they did last year. I have all the ingredients, so it's a case of find a few days at home.

I have purchased a new orchid, I did walk past it, and then went back, I do love these plants, sadly they do not thrive in our home, once the flowers have all finished, I struggle to get them to bloom again.

I am pleased to see this cactus coming back into flower, it's in our downstairs bathroom, the window let's in loads of sunshine, it's cool there and this plant loves it. I've done nothing to it since it bloomed last year.

Daughter shared this with us, we are so proud of George, he is smashing loads of his targets, we know he is intelligent, he loves his school. Having his photo taken looking at the lens, looking happy and confident is a huge change in him.

Sunday hubby was out, so I spent part of the day with daughter, Will had a party, afterwards he went with grandma for a sleepover, so I played with Molly and George and chatted with mummy, they both loved their Spanish fans. We walked to Dunelm for lunch and popped into B&M to look at toys, it was a lovely sunny day.

Now I have gotten over the shock of coming back to colder UK, I am thinking it's much milder, most days start grey and dull, later we are seeing some sunshine, we have noticed the radiators are cold when they should be hot, but when we check the house is warmer and the heating is not clicking on. 

I did get a few bits for christmas in our recent shop mainly for stocking fillers, we don't go mad, there is very little we want, I have a birthday in November so hubby has that to think about, BUT I have had my tablet early to use in Spain.

Just waiting

My sister found this frog, she got a set of three, one blue, one red, which are her favourite colours and this green one, which I love. I had thought to place it near my wildlife pond, but it's too nice to be tucked at the bottom of the garden.

I've just finished this book, it was recommended to me, set back in early 1900's, not a period I normally read about, it was fun, clever idea, the staff old and current pay back the lady of the house, daughter to deceased man, who had ties in a more lowly part of London. I'm not sure if I would read another book by the author. Book 32 read this year. 

 My greenhouse is still full, lots of bedding plants, almost ready to go out, along with herbs and some leeks. I have plants on the mini greenhouse frame, it's still working hard, even without the plastic cover it's a useful space. There are two tubs with 4 cauliflower plants in, these will go into the raised bed once the broad beans are finished, and a tub with a horseradish plant. My sphagnum moss stays in here on the big plant pot saucer. 

I have 2 tubs of carrots I would like to be outside, but neither have holes in the bottom, so with all the rain they stay inside, I also have 2 tomato plants, the green tub has broad bean husk in, my composter is full for now. There are plants which need to go out, again the rain is stopping me moving things. Along the back are my succulents and cacti, it's a permanent feature in here. 

It's been a nothing few days, home together, out in my garden when I can, reading when it's wet, the evenings have been cooler again, time watching TV.  We both loved Race around the World, which ended last night, the producers choose interesting people, opinions made at the start change as we get to know them, everyone running to the same goal, brilliant TV. Sewing bee is back on, I'm not inspired with the sewers so far, hubby over the years has always watched with me, he now loves it as much as me, I'm hoping after a couple of eliminations, we can see past the ego's, and enjoy their journey. 

Strange.....

 I have been shopping, from a good supplier, Coastal Succulents, Cacti and Alpines, based in Somerset, they are not the cheapest, but they do have some very different plants. I am hoping betty's new hair will grow and look as good as the advertised photo, it has already grown loads. The string of pearls worked but it was time for a change.

I also got a praying hands, back left hand corner, I have changed this trio of pots about, the living stones were not happy, so they are in a pot in the greenhouse, the Haworthia Cooperi I have put into the right hand pot in front, I think it will be better on it's own, it's a baby off the original plant which is now huge and in the greenhouse, three of these plants were purchased in March 2021, so I am happy they are growing so well, these stay on my desk.

We all love a free plant, this one Mangave 'snow leopard' was in my parcel, I've planted it and popped it in the sitting room. I do like the red edges to the leaves, I've not seen this plant before so growing it will be fun, it already looks to be growing another leaf.

My pregnant onion has bumps, I can see three, hopefully babies, it's sat on my desk by our huge window, a very sunny spot. I have loads of tiny flies off this plant, a bit annoying, but not enough for me to move the plant.

I got a new plant for my spaceman pot, sadly I don't know what it is called as it came from the garden centre in a tiny pot with a generic label, looks good, this trio on my electric wood burner always looks good, we only ever have the lamp on in the dark evenings so it's a perfect spot for them. 

I do love the weird and wonderful when it comes to houseplants, same with my choice of pots, most of which I get off line as local garden centres are very mainstream with their plants, no pretty flowers here, spiky, weird rules for me. I have a wall of shelves in the greenhouse which has more evil ones, away from the grandchildren. 

My desk is clear of seedlings, everything is back in the greenhouse, hubby is happy, he hates the cluttered look, I don't mind for the few weeks to be able to watch them grow. Other than inside the greenhouse there is little to do in the garden, give it a few weeks and I will be busy again. 

Flowers for Christmas

These are Amaryllis bulbs 1 and 2 on right hand side, lovely long leaves but no flower bud, I have popped them behind the sofa, trying to see if they would grow a flower spike, I rested all my bulbs over the summer, storing them in paper bags, in shredded paper in a wooden tray, at the time I was going on instincts, later I read it was the correct thing to do. The others are bulbs 3 and 4, the 5th bulb is in the garage, I'm keeping it cold to hold the growth back, I am expecting these only to regrow leaves, as I can't get any of my bulbs to flower a second year. 

So recently in Tesco, I gave in a purchased this bulb, I am hoping the white will look good against our green walls. If the above bulbs don't produce flowers this year, I will compost them. I will plant it soon, I have hyacinth bulbs in a couple of pots and a white Christmas rose from last year, so I will have some fresh plants, I will also get a bright red cyclamen for inside.

Again this plant is in full bloom, it sits in our bathroom, once the flowers have dropped I will move it to our kitchen, which is next door to the bathroom, there we can see it throughout the day. I won't move it before as I don't want to disturb the blooms. The windows are next to each other, so only a small move, this plant gives me blooms at other times of the year, but not as many as now.

Last year when in Newcastle, I shopped in Fenwicks and got the ceramic tree at the back, I got the other ceramic tree on a shopping trip to Tesco, and decided I loved it and would get a couple more for Christmas gifts for friends, whilst there I saw the glass tree, so that now lives with me, I do a tree display each year, these will go nicely. All have candles inside, once I got home I realised they all had 20% off, I am already burning the glass tree, as I have some battery pretty lights I can pop into it when candle is done. 

Christmas is in my thoughts, I have finished purchasing the gifts, we don't get so many anymore, the grandsons are old enough to prefer money, I swap with just 1 sister and 1 brother, and a few friends, most everyone we know says the same thing, they don't want anything. We always have Christmas day with daughter, SIL and their 3, so we have gifts for each of them. Our store cupboards are full, and we have a few little extra's, only really need to think about fresh meat, dairy and veg, hubby is already making list. I played my Christmas song list on Monday, it's an complete mixup of sounds from through the years, and I love it, really festive. 

Thank you for your comments on my last post, I'm feeling much better, still have the awful cough which always hangs on after bugs, I am beginning to get back my taste buds, hubby has made some lovely soups for me, which was enough for me to eat when unwell. I'm not going to sign group today, I don't want to pass on bugs, so many of you understood my views, it is easier to walk away rather than try to explain and risk any unpleasant comments, the neighbour has been in the group longer than me.

Our landscaper popped over, he's very happy with the work we have done, and has no problem with the one small change we would like. We should soon start receiving supplies, which we have plenty of space for, he's looking forward to creating our perfect garden.

The electric's and solid wood floor is on hold until after the festive season, neither of us can face the work required, and the knowledge we will need to check the electrics in other rooms and replace if they are loose under the floor boards, I wish we had them looked at when we moved in, the sockets were checked, but not the wires. We have lived here for 14 years, so a few more months won't matter, will it? 2024 is going to be the year of the electrics.

Inside

This cactus in the kitchen is a very slow flowering plant, we have had at least one bloom on it for weeks, and loads of buds, it's nice to have a later flowering plant. Beautiful colour in the gloomy January days. I love the pineapple pot it's in, all golden and shiny. 

In the bathroom, plants are growing well, we have a second flower stalk on the spider plant, which is pleasing, it's always green in here, other than November when the cactus flowers.

On my electric log burner in the sitting room, these plants do well, the Poinsettia is fake, I can't keep a real one, it will stay out for now adding colour here. My space man get weirder as the plant grows. 

I got this Amaryllis bulb half price in early December, I planted it and it did not show any growth for ages, in the last week it has shot up, another pure white bulb. My original bulb had a second tip growing, it is another bud, so more blooms. I have another bulb, but I will wait a while before planting it, I see no point in having more than one flowers at the same time. 

I have finished reading Adam Frost newest book, 'How I garden', and I loved it, he is now my preferred TV gardener, I loved Monty Don, for years, but I am now finding Gardeners World to be repetitive on so many subjects. Adam's book is just like he is chatting to you, very down to earth and not preaching in any form, so much good information regarding organic and little digging gardening. He has such a good start as a gardener, firstly with Devon parks department, and then working with Geoff Hamilton, who was way ahead with organic gardening. Book 1 read this year.

As always my office is full of plants, I showed a photo of my desk in a recent post, I have so much joy is seeing things growing. I have been out into my greenhouse, but I am not doing much, the very cold spell has damaged some of my tender plants, I don't do anything in the greenhouse to protect from cold, our winters are normally very mild, I do have a heater, which I have never used, I am leaving everything, once warmer weather starts, in the correct time of year, I will see what can be salvaged. Our temperatures are much higher as our climate changes, it was the same last year, our winters are much wetter, we have more storms at this time of year, luckily we do not live in a flood area. 

We had Will, George and Molly here on Saturday, for a couple of hours, they played well, we ate our picnic lunch sat on the floor, and then watched some TV, for rest time, once they went home hubby and I relaxed for a few hours, how peaceful the house was. Most of the time they were reading books, all 3 love books. It rained most of the day, so no walks, but with 3 children our steps were high anyway.

Sunday was dull, dark and cold, and rained most of the day, so another inside day. I started sorting my stash of fabrics stored in 2 boxes in the attic, most of what I had was over 10 years old, I am passing loads on to a young lady doing a college course in needlework and textiles, hoping she can use most of it, if not pass it on to others on the course. One thing lead to another and all my fabrics have been sorted and what I'm keeping has been folded and stored, I just need to get a box for my fat quarters. 

Regarding Harry's book Spare, we are not interested, most families have issues, but there is no need to air everything in public, it's so sad. Social media is full of him, rightly or wrongly, I don't read any of it, he is an entitled young man from an entitled family.

Happiness is....

I am working on a new section, this is another favourite design of mine from the Spanish sampler, the colourful band above is from the same design. There are only two shapes here, all the colourful flowers are the same and the green sections are again the same, there is a smaller infill of the pale green, I have not yet decided if I like the shade of green I started to use, if I'm thinking about it then I probably don't like it.

The pink blooms against the blue walls in our bathroom is such a wonderful contrast, for just a few weeks this spot is delightful, the plant still looks good without the blooms. 

The other plant loving the bathroom is my spider plant, with it's babies , again a perfect spot for this plant, the green variegated leaves again looks good with the blue. I do love these plants when they get huge. 

My Amaryllis has doubled in size and I have everything crossed I have another bud forming. I removed the plastic sleeve after a week, allowing the plant to acclimatize to our room conditions. I have high hopes for beautiful white flowers at Christmas.  They always grow well in this spot.

George is 3 this week, and we won't get to see him on his birthday, so we gave him his card and present, mummy encouraged him to open it. George loves the film Up and loves Doug the friendly dog, we got him the soft toy, he was extremely happy with it. 

It was good to spend Saturday afternoon with daughter, George and Molly, Will was having a sleepover at Grandma and Grandpa's house. I collected Will from school Friday afternoon, so we had some time together. 

We walked to the village on Saturday morning,  it was dry and cold, I have started wearing my gloves and scarf, I don't mind it cold as its easy to add layers,  the temperature has dropped, I do hate being cold and wet. Grace sits on my lap most evenings, so she keeps me warm, often I am too hot with her, but I do enjoy her being so close.

I'm using my phone to access the Internet and it won't allow me to comment on any post, not sure if it's Blogger or Google, but it's a pain. Hopefully I will be able to use my desktop again soon and leave comments.

I have to finish SIL sock, I'm past the heel, so straight simple knitting, it the final bit if his Christmas present.