Lazy weekend

Molly is now 2 years old, how quickly time flies, she is a clever quick thinking little girl, typical when you have two older brothers, Sunday we spent the morning with them, she had a family party at home, loads of dairy free cake and fun.

I work on this design most days, one pattern at a time, and smile as the empty space gets smaller, it is harder to choose designs as the area is smaller. I feel very close to the finish line. I do have thoughts on what next.

Outside again, there are two plants in this huge pot, red vines and yellow ones at the bottom, I am so pleased with the number of vines on here, nothing beats the taste of home grown tomatoes, we have picked a few already. This pot will stay in the greenhouse.

We are having a steady harvest of small cucumbers, the tomatoes behind were planted later to extend the harvest season, again 2 plants in one tub. These are both outside. The long narrow pot as a good mixture of sand and old compost, both my cats love using it, I can easily keep it clean, and they are not digging in the main beds.  

I cut back the blueberries last year and there are loads of new growth, which will be great for next years harvest, there are loads of berries, most are just starting to ripen. The raspberries look very healthy, there are plenty of flowers forming, most of these are late summer fruits. The blueberry tub will be moved soon, hubby wants to get at the cut back tree roots, I have a new spot for the tub, but only after the summer flowers have finished. 

Saturday, 15 minutes after publishing the post below hubby came home, the heavy rain and thunder stopped everything, so he got on with painting the bathroom door and door frame, the downstairs bathroom is finished now and looks good, exactly the same colours as before, the paint is good quality and has kept well, I am happy to have the same colours, means I don't have to change anything. Hubby wants to do our small hall next, it's now just skirting boards wall and ceiling. the back of the house is open plan and no more doors. He loves to do it himself, so for now I am doing more laundry and ironing, which is always his chores, his choice as he does not like housework, which I do. 

We have been watching tennis most days, the standards are very high this year, it's so good to see so many younger players coming through. Whilst sad to see Andy Murry and Katie Boulter knocked out, so no more British players, it is good to see so much excellent tennis. 

I have another busy week, I am doing the school collection run Monday to Thursday, daddy can get them to school and nursey, daughter still can't comfortably drive, so I rather she did not try, there is only two weeks left of the school term.

Blooming garden

This back section is looking good, in fact it's the best it's ever been, hubby has cut back the willow tree, it grows so fast and is hard to keep to a manageable size, so we decided to remove it, we will soon dig out the roots, it's not an easy decision to remove a healthy tree, the birds have never nested in the tree,  but it is the wrong tree in the wrong place. I plan to extend the raspberries next year, adding more early harvest types. We do have 2 trees in the ground and our Olive in a huge tub, which is good for a small garden. 

I love agapanthus, the huge clump in the far corner was a plant I purchased years ago, this clump at the front of the photo, was separated from the main plant, I have another clump elsewhere in the garden. I have 20 heads on the big plant and 8 on the second plant. 

Our Acer loves this spot, we both agree we are so pleased we planted it on it's own in this spot, it was moved in 2021 and has doubled in size, it does stand out against the slate and grey fence. The flower bed next to it is full of colour. 

Making my side bed, I had a vision, and this is not it, having said that, I love this bed, it's a riot of colour, things pushing through, loads of different colours, I will trim the climbing rose later in the year, hoping I get flowers lower down, it was trained high, when the water but was here. There is a peace lily by the rose bush, I have dug it out twice, but it wants to live there, so I have given in, it adds to the mixture of plants.

Pots still have places they shine, these Salvia are my favourite and just 4 plants do well in this pot, the little lemon clematis behind is new this year, last winter killed my other plant, it is filling out well, we have had a few flowers, but there are loads more to come. It won't get much higher, it's a bush type, I just helped it to grow on the frame. 

This table and chairs now live by the fence, as always it's a perfect spot for a couple of pots, both begonia's, the one on the table has dainty flowers, whilst the one on the decking is big and blousy. Next year I will get the table and chairs dipped and powed-coated back to white.

I have had these pots for years, there is a third one elsewhere in the garden, the geraniums, have been in the pot for years, the coleus are planted new this summer, they are not hardy and don't survive even in the green house over winter.   

Finally, my success, my Hosta, it's planted in an old coal bucket, which keeps the slugs and snails from eating it, I have a second in a metal bucket, which also works as well. Other years both plants have been tucked against a wall and was feasted on by snails. This one I leave in the middle of my steps, so I do have to step over it, but it's worth the effort just to see how well it has grown, there is a flower forming. 

I've had a brilliant week, loads of rest, sewing (cross stitch) and watching tennis on the TV. I've not worried about my steps, luckily for me over the week I have averaged over 7,000 per day. I missed Pilates again this week, but plan to start back next week.

Today hubby is out, so a lazy day for me, not made any plans, it's raining again, but it should pass us by early afternoon, we are back to a true british summer. 

Tomorrow Molly is 2 years old, we will spend the day at their house, lots of giggles and fun, no party, it's too much for daughter so soon after her operation on her foot. Have a great weekend. 

Wet felting.

I did a wet felting day class, a new craft for me, a small class and a good teacher. Once we got started we made a test piece, which we cut in half, working longer on one side, making it smaller and thicker, learning the process.

Next we made some blended pre-felts, these can be light weight and used to embellish your work  here I just played, each side different. Having no idea how the finished item would look, it was fun to play.

Next I made my backing felt, I could not decide on a colour, the tutor suggested this orange. 4 layers all blended into one. A very neat trick was used to get tidy edges, not always necessary,  but useful for this piece.

The design is then added, lots of water to help blend them together, there is a thin clear plastic film on top, which helps keep the fibers where I want them. Lots of gentle rubbing at first, then rolling, to matt the fibres together, the more work you do at this stage to more bonded it becomes and the more it shrinks.

I did not just want just the felt, I will add hand sewing as well to add to the texture,  this is now strong enough to use however I want. The plain orange side is thinner,  but not by much, my pre-felt bonded well.

We had spare time so I made more blended samples, this one I made the back darker than the front, which means I could use either side. It's in four quarters, so different colours.

 It was very creative, I did have back ache by the time I got home, not too bad, and was OK after a rest. Our tutor who is a fibre artist, really worked to get us doing the best we could, she had so many colours of the raw carded fleece (rovings) and other wools and materials.

Most of the tools you would have at home, just the Olive soap was different, on a bonus, my hands were very soft by the end of the session. I have more rovings, so I do plan to have a go at home.

It was good to do something  completely new, I booked the day as a nice thing to do, but enjoyed it far more than I thought I would. Its really creative, got me thinking, it evolved as I was working on it, which I love. In my selfcare week, it's was a perfect day. Next week I have a day needle felting, I am hoping it's just as enjoyable. 

Lazy summer time

 I am enjoying the garden view again, it feels good to sit and see the colourful flowers, watch the lovely lights turn on as it gets dark, it's peaceful here. Part of the joy in the view is the knowledge on the work it took to create it, many mistakes were made over the years, plants lovingly purchased, died or grew too large, we often changed things to improve, as like so many gardens it evolves. 

I don't have any photo's showing our bare garden when we moved in, the flower bed at the back was there, no plants just covered in yellow stones, in this photo below, I had already dug out part of the decking along the fence, later I created the raspberry bed and the side bed along by the garage. The back was just a poorly made raised concrete section, which had many uses before my greenhouse was built. The Magnolia tree was then the star of the garden, it still is. This photo is from spring 2010, even the lawn was dead. I did a post here of the evolution of our back garden. 

Just a little posy of sweet-peas,  it's my favourite flower at this time of year, every year I try and grow them with little success,  so this posy is a good result for me,  only 6 plants, popped in the back of my raised bed. I am hopeful of loads more to come, loving the mixture of colours. These are the only flowers I cut and bring inside. 

Stitching is another slow relaxing pastime, I first picked a needle up when in junior school, my mum was always knitting or sewing, she passed her skills on the me, both my sisters know how to knit and sew, but neither make much. My younger sister likes to purchase fabric and wools, but they stay in her craft room, I do see there are two types of crafting, those who collect bits and those who make things, for years I collected, now I am using up my stash. I don't do much hand stitching, cross stich takes time, and when I am doing designs like this one, it keeps my mind busy, I enjoy the creative side of it. 

This week is all about selfcare, resting, I ache so much, knees, hips and even hands, I have filed my nails short, so many broke last week, I can try and get them growing again. I have time to rub in creams, do a few stretches, and generally get back to myself. I'm not worried about steps this week.

Tennis at Wimbledon is back on TV, both hubby and I love watching, already watched some brilliant matches, I also stitch at the same time, often stopping to watch TV.

Monday hubby and I had a day together, it was cooler, we spent time outside, the garden heals and relaxes us both, I was taken out to lunch in the village, we avoided the rain storm, and relaxed all afternoon.  Tuesday, another lazy day at home, we are not doing much at all, it's lovely to have time to relax and rest, another huge rain storm, the garden is looking much better.

Today I am on a wet felting course, just a quick bus ride into town, I am looking forward to learning something new, I have wanted to do felting for years.