Splat

 I saw something similar on Instagram recently and thought it would be great for the little ones, we stopped using water balloons years ago, so much wasted plastics, I cut the sponges up into strips and tied them together with a small cable tie, add to a bucket of water and let the fun begin...

As you can see Molly and George loved playing, and got me very wet, we each had our own bucket of water, we slipped their shorts off before play, I can see them wanting to play every visit, mummy remembered to bring dry clothes. Lilly just kept out of their range, Grancha hid in the sunroom, mummy and Will stayed inside. So much laughter. 

My grapevine is growing, it's probably the only plant enjoying this extended heat wave, it's nice to know it's settled into its growing space. In the same bed my cucumbers are ripening, I get a couple each week, the tomatoes are behind, too much shade from the magnolia tree. 

All I do outside is water and deadhead the flowers, my gladioli are already going over, they are in a sunny spot, I want to move my 2 snowberry plants from the daisy bed, they can't be seen and are wasted in their current spot, hubby has given me a nice pot for them, later in the year I can add spring bulbs. Hubby has an hydrangea in his from garden suffering from the heat, he does not water his garden enough. I have cut back the thyme and sage in my big herb pot next to our seating area, I will move them into individual pots, I can then add to the compost in the big pot and replant the hydrangea, in hope I can save it, it gets morning sun and afternoon shade, I have a geum I can separate and underplant. I'm just waiting for rain before I start moving things.

My runner-beans are still rather ropey, they have started climbing up the poles, hopefully with the slightly lower temperatures they may catch up. I have tried a couple of times to sow lettuce, nothing is coming up, so I will get some small plants this week.

Today will be much the same as yesterday weather wise, just 26°, sounds hot, we have had over 30° for the past 10 days, so it does feel less oppressive, still no rain, now almost 6 weeks, we have had a few cloudy days, I've been looking online for pagan rituals to call for rain just joking. My waterbuts are all almost empty, I try and keep enough for the few plants I can't use tap water.

I'm 5

 So our youngest grandchild is 5, her birthday was last Thursday, we all popped to see her after school, she had cake and presents, a very happy little girl. All we heard was 'I'm 5 now'. Here wearing her KPop demon hunters outfit, it's all the rage for her and her peers.

Her first birthday cake, on her birthday with us, grandpa and grandma, a proper family event. Hubby and I surprised the little ones, we collected them after school, both were happy to see us, it was a hot day Molly does suffer in the heat.

Molly had a few friends over on Sunday to play in their garden, daughter had been busy to ensure it was as neat as possible, and added balloons and bunting to make it pretty, it was chaos the whole time, George joined in, Will stayed in his bedroom. This lady was hired to visit, Rumi from KPop, she was wonderful with all the children including younger brother and sisters, George loved her as well.

Molly had asked hubby to make a red velvet cake, he makes them dairy free so she can eat them, he decided to make cupcakes, they do look lovely and as normal they tasted great.  Below is half the batch, the children loved them.

For some nostalgia. 

I had a sleepover on Saturday night, daughter went out for an early evening meal with friends, so I did bedtime, the little ones were so good. Will asked if he could watch the England football match starting at 10pm, he was so happy to see them win and went to bed no problem. Daughter had prepared everything she could on Saturday, so Sunday was an easy start, we did have the pool out, loads of bubbles and inflatables, happy children. Parents sat around keeping an eye on their children, having a lovely chat together.

I was home in time to watch the gentlemen's final, what a match, so close, Sinner winning in 4 sets, sets 1 and 2 were nail biting, sadly it's all over for another year. Now we can get back to normal life, still in this relentless heatwave, no rain here for over 4 weeks, most of Hampshire is on a hosepipe ban implemented by Southern Water, we are OK  as our fresh water is provided by Portsmouth Water, so I can water a few times a week.

Weekend

 Everyone loves a BBQ, hubby cooked a simple one, just burgers, sausages and chicken, I made a grown up selection of salads for daughter and us, alongside a cider shandy, bliss. Hubby is going to sell his BBQ, these days it is far to big for us, so he made the decision to sell it and get a smaller one, he has already seen one he likes.

The children used all of the garden again, this space is just so perfect for them, Molly approved of our new sunroom, she was happy to be able to get scooters out, I put the smaller garden rug in a shady spot with cushions for them to play.

My daughter told me there was a prequel to Ask For Andrea, so I found it on Kindle, again I'm not going to tell you the plot, again I could not put it down, a wonderful plot, I'm  off to look for more of her books. Book 41 read this year.

Gardening is on hold, except watering, I  do enjoy the time spent with the hose, checking the plants and surrounding garden. There is very little in the greenhouse, half has a net curtain up to help with shade. These cuttings are all doing well, mainly gaura, 7 tiny ones and 1 bigger plant, 2 begonias, and a tray of mixed salad leaves. 

My peanuts are still doing well, I do hope I manage to get a harvest for hubby, I can't eat these due to an allergy, I check my greenhouse at least twice a day, just to ensure the few plants inside are doing OK.

Saturday evening we watched the live feed of TakeThat circus concert in Manchester, hubby enjoyed it, we shared a bottle of red wine, a very different and enjoyable few hours. I have no desire to go to any of these huge venues, but I do still love music, so watching on our bigger screens at home is just perfect.

We are under another amber weather warning for heat in the next few days, its going to be at least 34° again, I'm not great in the heat, so we are sitting in the shade trying to find any breeze, we have a few nice spots. I'm back watering the garden again. We had planned a trip to Oxford with an overnight stay on Monday/Tuesday, we have delayed our trip for almost a week, just to hot to go sightseeing. 

Last week

 I've  stitched on Mollys second swimming badge, she is doing well. I have also added stuffing to George's dog Henry, he was rather limp and would not stand up, I love being able to do these task for them.

We met daughter at Dunelm for a coffee and a cake, I saw these silk daisies which I love, I would have liked an old fashioned milk bottle, this Kilner jar looks almost as good. I already had the field poppies and cornflowers, these being a favourite bunch of flowers for me.

Hubby took George to the park and village on Saturday, he loved the park, at the village was the local craft market, so it was busy, they did not stay long, hubby said George went straight to the flowers and pointed to this bunch 'for nana'

Here's a memory jerker, always when George visits, the drawer handles have to put up, I have told him often it's not the right way, yesterday he had free reign to change them all.

Another good book, read on my kindle apt, your husband tricks you into moving out, you still love him, he's got a younger woman, it follows the wife's story, then the other woman's with a great twist at the end. Book 39 read this year.

It took until Saturday morning for George to be well again, most of Friday he refused to eat much I did not worry because he was sipping water all through the day, it was a dull day, so indoor playing suited him. Saturday he was with Grancha (hubby) all day, he was a great little boy, played outside in the sunshine, football and his balance bike being the favourites. Sadly I woke up in the early hours on Saturday and had George's bug, not at all nice, I did get up late on Saturday and just sat around, but I was so tired I went back to bed, George was OK with me being in bed, he kept coming to check on me, passing me my drink, much the same as I did to him on Thursday, plus lots of cuddles and him stroking my face.

We missed our Gala at the castle again this year, I do like to go, it's a proper family day, George has always loved to '999' section with fire engines and police cars, they always have so many children's rides, the adults rides are in a different field and only open later in the day. Hubby is out all day today, which is fine I can have a very lazy day, I might drive up to see daughter and little ones, to hear about thrie trip, much depends on how I feel. 

I almost forgot we missed a good local show a tribute to Robbie Williams, we passed our tickets on to friends who loved the show, hopefully we can catch it again. 

Oops I done it again

We went to Lidl for shopping so we don't have to go out over the coming bank holiday weekend, and this acer fell into our trolly. I did not know I needed another one, it is beautiful, the leaves are different to my others, I lied to hubby stating I had just the spot for it, at £9.80 it did not break the bank.

Here by the steps to the greenhouse is my trio of acers, there are three different colours here, I trim it all the time to keep the steps clear. These are my favourite,  I love the different shades of green.

This acer is the star in our garden, purchased in 2008 for just 99p, it looked like a dead twig, but I knew it would grow back, I  gave it some acer feed this month, I will need to cut the front back later this year, so I'm hoping it thrives through the summer.

 George is not wanting to wear his school uniform, the school is very understanding, on the last day before half term, he decided to wear his top from his pj's, school shorts, mummy's hat and tassels from curtains, his teacher said he looked cool. Molly also has her own individual style as shown before.

This is our westher forecast for the coming week.

It's half term, so we are expecting little people to visit, we have stocked up on their favourite snacks and ice pops, probably have a BBQ or two as the weather is playing nicely. 

Hubby has to finish sorting his area of the garage, like me he does not like things just shoved into spaces. I have veg beds to sort, digging out the final cabbages, making the bed ready for two tomato plants, I have soaked my peas and they are now on wet kitchen towel, those which sprout will go straight into the ground, my runner beans are sown, a bit late which is OK. I am picking lettuce leaves, the cucumbers are getting to a nice size and I have tiny fruit on the tomatoes.  My flower beds are all looking good, I have a few gaps to fill on the side bed, and room for home grown bedding plants in the square bed. I do need to purchase some french marigolds, my seeds all failed.

Nana on call

Just another view of my side bed, so full of blue, the camassia blooms whilst pretty don't last too long, there are two yellow rose bushes just about showing, and loads of other plants starting to regrow. 

 George has new glasses which he is now wears all the time, his first pair was a specific design to help children cope with wearing glasses for the first time and rather expensive. These are a standard design, he is very happy with them.

Daughter called me at 5.30am on Friday to come and sit with boys whilst Molly was checked out at A&E, at first they tested for sepsis, thankfully it was negative, she has not been well for a couple of days, it was confirmed it was a severe reaction, no way of knowing to what. This photo was taken late afternoon when the rash was settling, the earlier photo is too horrible to post.

I've spent days at daughters house, Thursday morning looking after the children whilst daughter and hubby took a trip to IKEA, Will now has his new bedroom, hubby got a few small bits for us, I got the better part of the deal. In the evening I went to WI, it was a relaxing music evening, which was well attended.

Friday I was out early, both boys were still in bed, so first hour was very quiet, George and I had a couple hours together. Once home Molly was very subdued she listened to her favourite music most of the day, she is still unwell. I had planned a sleepover which helped daughter as they were all tired.

Saturday was an early start, George woke at 6.50am, we snuggled on the sofa for an hour, Molly looked better, but is still unwell, she is not eating much which probably helps her, I really hate to see any of them sick. I stayed until mid afternoon, it was a lazy time, loads of cuddles. Back home I did nothing just rested, we both had an early night.

Today we woke up to cloudy blue skies, it blew like mad last night and lots of rain, the wind died back a bit, it was warmer than previous days, but still cool, daughter is due to visit, they had not been out in days, George had been poorly before Molly. We did consider a BBQ, but decided best to wait a bit longer, doing the children's favourite food for lunch

Easter weekend

The children had so much fun hunting for everything, again Molly and George did their hunt together, Molly does love to include George, here finding new soft bunnies rather than too much chocolate. Will had to search in the veg section, the little ones can't have dairy, so separate hunts are necessary. 

Daughter, Molly and myself, 3 generations, its a photo we often take.

A family photos, perfect memories. 

After lunch the boys were given a Fifa 2026 world cup folder each, Will is collecting cards, we thought George would like the same, he does not understand the concept of collecting cards, but he likes to be treated the same as his big brother, Molly had Bluey, which she loves, the cards are a good treat not too expensive for when they are being good.

 

Sunday was a cooler day, very breezy, cloudy, we did have a couple short bouts of rain, not enough to say it was a storm. The children played outside we had a few balloons with confetti in, they loved them once they popped, and were covered in coloured spots. Everyone enjoyed lunch, a turkey roast, followers by chocolate brownies made with coconut oil, so little ones could eat some. Later we had a quiet evening together, a perfect day for everyone 

Monday was a day at home, we had not done much this holiday, George was very poorly on Friday and Saturday, he does get ill quickly, luckily he bounced back quick, mummy kept them home where they played outside. Again no plans to be on the roads, our area is always busy on sunny days, so many nice water front spaces and of course Portchester Castle at the other end of the village.

Storm Dave skirted to the north of us, it was very breezy, no rain, we were lucky to miss it, we have had enough rain to sort my dry pots and everywhere given a good soak, hubbies brother in Newcastle lost his garden wall, the wind was relentless.

School holidays

 The schools are off for a couple of weeks, so visits from little people are most welcome, the garden once again is full of squeals, laughter and football. Note Molly's outfit, she was a shimmer in pink all day, her frilly dress suited her happy mood.

Molly checked her peanuts, three had white roots, they had been on wet kitchen towel on my sunny window-sill, so we decided to pot them up, she did most of the work, she is very good at following instructions, the pot is in my greenhouse for now. 

Both George and Molly checked the wildlife pond, I am loving they are interested in nature and what lives in the water, which is still very clear, so we can see things including 3 huge water snails and newts swimming. Will came and checked it as well, sadly we could not see if the frog was still in residence. 

We collected our painted mugs, these will be used for our breakfast drinks, mine is all bit busy, which is OK, I'm no artist as you can see. I do need to realise less is better, my flowers are huge, I do like my colourwash for the sky.

Tuesday was a very unexpected warm sunny day, we spent ages outside, children playing, us chatting to daughter, I am so pleased how well our garden works on family days, plenty of room for toys, football and scooters. Both George and Molly helped sort my second early potatoes, they popped three in each bag and then sprinkled compost on top. They checked my first early bags and was happy to see the green leaves. They saw seedlings in two flower bags and a single shallot top in another bag, both wanted to do more, but accepted not yet, with a promise they can help next visit.

Wednesday was a day at home, dull and cold again, Thursday we took the bus to town collected our mugs, had a look in the few shops left in town, Will is collecting Fifa world cup football cards, so we got him the album, and another for George, Molly got a Bluey album, nothing else required, hubby got a new pair of trousers. We had lunch in town, later I mouched around the garden and did a bit of knitting.

Friday morning arrived with overnight rain, a good soak for a change and breezy, nothing like storm Dave in the north, I hope everyone is secure, warm and dry, terrible start to the Easter weekend, another quiet day planned here.

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.

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. 

Undercover

My ranunculi's are filling out I have 18 plants here in the segments, and aquilegia plants I have 4, I split these plants, this is the sunniest side of the greenhouse. 

These are from a split geum plant I removed from my sink, one pot got a bit waterlogged, they are all growing well, and a few extra sweet peas which will not grow so high as the main batch. 

On the lower shelf I have 5 foxgloves, all seeded in wrong places in the garden, I dug them out to grow on, my echinops is growing well, another reduced plant coming back to full strength. My sweet pea seedlings are a bit leggy, they do look good.

10 days ago I was pleased to see shoots on my peanuts, today they are even better, later I will pot them up and put them in the greenhouse under cover to keep them warm, I have the perfect sunny spot for them. All I did was pop them on wet paper towel in this clear box, placed them on a sunny window sill near the radiator.

Some of the above plants will go into bigger pots before planting, I have also potted up, Chocolate Cosmos, gypsophila  and I have two Geum's which were reduced plants, my freesia bulbs are planted in a bag outside, so much promise for this summer. My greenhouse is a bit full, it is also very messy, my tiny plastic greenhouse is still in the middle, soon I will move it back to the side, remove the plastic cover and use it as shelves. I have sown a few flower seeds, I have more to start, I do not require so many bedding plants, in previous years I used loads. I hope to be able to move some of the plants above outside. 

I felt sorry for daughter driving 7 very loud excited boys to their first paintball morning, the day was dry and bright, the sun shone a few times. The woods was not as muddy as we feared, daughter sat and read whilst the company looked after the boys for two hours, they were beyond happy on their return. I had a simpler morning watching Disney for a while with Molly, then painting, we stayed inside, George wanted to stay in his PJ's, which is OK.

Saturday evening and Sunday was at home with hubby, we never do much at weekends, too many people around. Sadly Sunday was wet so we stayed inside, I would have preferred being in the garden, in reality I don't have much to do, just a quick check in the greenhouse. 

Monday was a sunny start, which cheered us both up, I spent the morning cleaning our bedroom and shower room, giving all the glass a good clean, when the sun shines all the smears show, which left the afternoon outside, nothing big to do, its has left me feeling really good. I added a solar air pump to my pond, just a gentle ripple, I also moved a plant, I was overjoyed to see a small newt swimming, finally its a wildlife pond.

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.