A Garden Stroll.

We now have an area of garden  we called the 'fence' garden because its by the new fence.. all the plants there are either, small flowering trees or shrubs, apart from the Bramley, Victoria Plum and Russet apple, fruit trees. They are just beginning to flower, although the cherry and crab apple were early flowering. I can't remember the names of some!

This is to show the height of the fox gloves, now nearly gone.

Some aquilegia, new so hope these will self seed, as they are a lovely yellow

Blue geraniums, always welcome in my garden, so pretty and very blue!

And these were here, the only flowers, Arum lilies, not my favourite but Dh likes them. As soon as we have a frost, these wilt and become a yucky slime. Then they grow up all again, I've never seen this in a plant before.

This is one of three climbing roses I bought to go in front of the fence, Chandos Beauty, it does have an amazing scent.

And this is??...

...... it was supposed  to be this climbing rose, Starlight Symphony, but as you can see its just a mass of spindly growth and in the last week it has developed a single pink rose, like that of the wild Dog rose.

I got in contact with the company 2 months ago and sent photographs saying it was not the rose I had ordered. They suggested it was ok, but since then I've contacting them again and they are sending  me a new rose.. But I have to pay postage! I'm ok with that if it means I'll have the climbing rose I want.

I'm fighting the slugs and snails that are feasting on my dahlias, that are struggling to grow. I rely on the dahlias for my summer colour, so I check each morning and we do use a environmental slug deterrent.

I grow my tomatoes in pots against the west facing wall, they've always done well there, my favourites are Alicante and Big Tom.

Our little veg patch with Dh's potatoes in bags on the path. We have a moderate success with the potatoes, but are happy with that, we're only feeding us not an army!

Carrots, and lettuce are looking good, this patch gets full sun so we water most evenings.

And our Sweet Heart cabbage under an environmesh cover against cabbage butterflies!

We also have Sprouting Broccoli getting bigger each week, it won't be ready till Autumn.

We have eaten some of the garlic and a lettuce from our veg patch and isn't our parsley a wonder to behold!

The beans are all germinated in our little plastic greenhouse and Dh will be putting up his sticks and planting next week. Its all go now in the garden and we try to do a little each day. 

Chrisxx

My Bits and my Pieces!

 I spent most of Tuesday morning taking down all my bits and pieces off my dresser to give it all a very good clean. Some lovely memories as I looked at the different items, it was quite emotional too.

It houses gifts and pieces with special memories. On the very top shelf are 3 blue patterned plates that I bought after my divorce. We had a dinner service that my ex decided he wanted. His mother had bought it for us when we married. I didn't mind, because I didn't like it and I didn't like her, so good riddance I thought. But it meant my four grown up children and I only had odd dishes. 

That first Christmas 1987, my Aunt sent me some money, so I went to an Antique centre and bought an old dinner service, 6 large plates, 6 medium sized and 6 bread and butter plates, you've got to have bread and butter plates, don't you and 2 veg tureens, one with the lid missing; total cost £23, the stall holder took pity on me and dropped the price from £30. It did us well over the years and I kept those 3 plates just to remind me.

The rest of that shelf are all blue items, mostly gifts, except on the very right side is a small gin filled Delft Blue china house, it was from KLM airways that my ex was given. He had tossed it away and I rescued it, thinking it might have some monetary value, but I didn't sell it, but kept it all these years.

I've mentioned all that shelf has blue items, because the very first clearer I had, Fran,  after my divorce was lovely. On her first day she stripped and washed everything on my dresser, not something I asked of her, but she put everything back mixing up the shelf colours. I obviously noticed straight away when I got home from work, and before I did anything else, I put everything back as it was.. I made sure my next week's note to her said, 'no need to do the dresser, thank you!' I'm a bit OCD about it!

The picture on that blue shelf is a painting of Boysie, my dog I had years ago, it was painted because Boysie and Dh had been hit by a car that had mounted the pavement. Boysie was killed and Dh was pushed into a hedge, such a blessing that it was a hedge and not a wall.. the poo bag he was carrying was flung up into the tree. This was a great story for my grand children, who had to go to see the bag which was still in the tree months after. I was so relieved that Dh wasn't hurt, just bruised and shaken up. He was taken into A&E but was ok so allowed home. Elaine who had painted it, a lovely lady has since died. So a very precious painting.

The round shaped jug at the back on the bottom shelf was my mother's, one of a pair painted with blue birds, my parent's wedding present in 1936! There are 4 cats on there, I used to collect cats! There are presents from my G/daughter, my son who doesn't talk to me any more, nik nacks from friends, and a hand made little broach from Lilian, who is a Christian working  in Laos, a photograph of my middle son when he was in Play Group, he's 55 now and my grand daughter age 18mths, she's 30 in August.. a heart from Dh bought one Valentine's day. I love them all.

And a lot more; so many precious things, which will be just stuff to some one else one day, but to me they are memories, very, very precious memories.

Chrisxx

New buys.

We've been talking about new furniture for ages, so last we actually went to buy it. I'd looked on line for several weeks, comparing sofas and matching chairs first; we also popped into a Next store to look at their sofas.

We drove to an M&S store just our side of Cardiff..I don't think I've ever been in such a huge store, it went on for miles and miles. I was exhausted by the time we came out. Thank goodness I knew what we were looking for.

We had to search for a sales person to buy it, but we're pleased with our buy. The colour, Sea Foam, matches our carpet and lounge that we had painted last year.  Dh tried the sofa, me the chair and they are very comfortable. 

I am also going to buy a recliner for myself in a light colour that will hopefully match. Curtains are next and then we're done. 

We no longer like walking around large stores, its too confusing, so many different choices and I get too tired.. but the toilets there were super!

We nearly went into the restaurant, but we knew we'd be tempted and weight loss means more to us than lunch in M&S! But it looked very tasty, it was very hard to turn away. 

We will give our present sofa and chairs to Emmanus, they're still looking good as the covers are washable and being Laura Ashley have kept their shape.. Delivery is next month, so we're very happy!

Chrisxx

Why are we different?

 Why do we like different things, have you ever wondered that? What colours our judgements, is it our up bringing, education, life experiences? I often wonder.. 

For example books:- 

So many people raved about this book, so I got it from the library and took it back with a DNF note on my lists. I didn't hate, it but it didn't appeal to me and my mind kept wandering and as I turned the pages I realised I hadn't taken in what was written!

But this one, that a lot of readers did not like I loved. In fact I read it twice, because it was chosen for the Book Group I belong to and on the second reading, I read stuff I'd missed the first time. When some of the group said they didn't like it and thought Eleanor was unlikeable, I wondered if we had read the same book! I loved her quirky ways and understood her need for routine, it was safe!

I've had my views totally changed by some books. I looked up the reviews of Mad Honey, as it was suggested that it was a 'marmite' book. You either loved it or hated it. So I approached it with some trepidations. 

Trans gender issues have never been in my sphere of understanding, and one of the comments had a spoiler alert,  that this book dealt with trans gender issues. I read it and didn't just enjoy it, it opened my mind to how it can just be something that is there, whether you are willing or not. And a very young person, who wanted to be a different gender to that which had been written on their birth certificate, was ok. Jodi Picoult wrote this book with Jennifer Finney Boylan, a trans gender person. It was heart rendering and I was very emotional reading it. It changed how I thought of trans gender people.

And yet this wildly acclaimed book was not for me! When I started to read it, it was fine. I liked the storying, the style of  how it was written, then even before I was a quarter of the way through, it lost me. It was 700 pages long and I thought, do I want to read a story like this. Life's too short to read books you don't like' is a mantra I often say. Whether it is alright to write about anything you like, for me its a no no. So I couldn't bring myself to read it.

But this book by Patrick Gale was amazing and dealt with the same subject as 'The Hearts Invisible Furies.'

The author thought that the character, Harry Cane could have been his great grand father, living back in the 1920s when homosexuals were imprisoned.

A shy middle class man, who abandoned his wife and child and emigrated to Canada, to a place called Winter. A beautiful story full of emotion, hard work and heart ache. I loved reading it. Dh and I had the pleasure of listening to Patrick Gale talking about it. when he was a guest at the Essex Literary Festival. 

So I ask again what is it in our make up that defines what we like, while other people hate what we like?

To all intents and purposes I had a Victorian up bringing, as it was my grand mother, born 1887,  who brought me up, it was very straight-laced and narrow... but I had a wide education in a school that taught me, that I could have my own opinions and a BIG local library! And my Aunt bought me a set of Arthur Mees encyclopedias and I read all 10 volumes cover to cover, so it kind of straightened out my narrow up bringing. I still do have some hang ups, I couldn't wear trousers in church even if you paid me, but other things are in the past!

What about you?

Chrisxx

Will things change?

 Like a lot of people in my town and not just my town, there are patients frustrated trying to get through to the Surgery in the 8:00am scramble. So when someone recently posted on the town FB page saying how pleased they were with the service they'd received from the Dr's surgery, I like to query their post.  I want to know how many times they had to phone, what number they were when they got through and how long they had to wait.  Because I know from experience it's not that simple. 

However as the Government has launched the scheme where pharmacists can give out medicines, we don't need to see a Dr for simple straight forward complaints or do we?  Its not that simple and patients have been turned away, because of confusion over the scope of the service.

Did you know its age related.. young persons over 1 year old, can be treated for ear problems, sore throats, insect bites; over 5 for impetigo, sinusitis, and over 18, shingles. UTIs are for women 16 to 64..Pharmacists have complained that they have been attacked by people who hadn't realised that many of the conditions were age related. I didn't until I looked it up.

Of course there is also 111. But recently even that, has now been over run and there are waiting times for phones to be answered.

And we also recently have had Drs and Ambulances on strike. Although because of the volume of patients needing an ambulance there can be many hours waiting for one. There are some horrific stories of older people, who have fallen and waiting hours on the ground for an ambulance. Our NHS is on its knees and we are the ones suffering, because its not working.

But have no fear, after the General Election, with Labour in power. The waiting times for operations or any hospital treatment will be cut; GPs will be increased to relieve the pressure to get an appointment, they will generally improve the NHS; as well as Reforming the justice service; raising Education standards; make Britain a 'clean energy super power' ; Securing the highest sustained growth in the G7. Such promises are they to be believed?

So all will be 'tickety boo!!' I am sure many politicians do believe they can do all manner of improvements, but perhaps they've forgotten it costs.. where will the money come from? I paid into a Voluntary Pension Scheme, as well as my in service pension and for my trouble it is taxed! Raising taxes might be the answer, but it would be a very unpopular move. 

Its 'pie in the sky,' what do you think?

                          Chrisxx

A sunshiny day and too hot!

 Absolutely scorcher of a day here yesterday, too hot to garden till late afternoon.  We had a super morning in town, which had a band playing songs that have a words you can remember with tunes that are sing-able! Called the 'Ghost-Buskers' their average age was probably 60! Lots of people stopped to watch them and join in with the singing. Mostly 70s, and 80s songs. A real seaside town summer day in the sun!

I stopped to watch while Dh went to the Coop, as we forgot to get a chicken  on our order. Strange. but true little old ladies sitting on the seat of their wheels get spoken to! Lots of people in shorts and happy faces and a lot of happy tail wagging dogs. One woman stopped to chat and I talked to her cockerpoo. It was very difficult and I had to choke back tears, her dog was so pretty and so like Nell; her hair felt like Nell's too as I stroked her back.

At home in the garden, we sat under an umbrella and read. I'm reading one of my comfortable authors. The sort that write a story, with a hint of romance and no shocks! It's sort of cosy and sometimes you need cosy, do you agree?

And I'm enjoying it. 

We planted the last of my foxglove seedlings, now grown quite big and strong. We have had some beauties and these are to flower next year.

But we hope it will rain as the garden is dry. 

Chrisxx

Too tired!

 It was a beautiful day here yesterday, but I saw hardly any of it.. after all my efforts in the front garden the day before you'd have thought I'd have slept well. I did not, I didn't get to sleep till gone 12 mn and woke at 5 and couldn't get back to sleep. I tried, as I was comfortable, not too warm and it was quiet. Dh and I were up at 6, and I struggled to get going, I was so tired.

We were showered and had a cup of tea early, as Friday is our SW meeting and we leave the house at 9.

It was a 'taster session' when members bring a SW food item. Dh had made a crustless quiche and it was very tasty. The session was to honour the Man of the Year, in our group; it was 'willy man' who won!

I'd lost a pound, so I am half a pound away from the next stone down, yippee! I'll make a real effort this week to get down, its slow but sure.

When we got home I collapsed into my arm chair; Dh had some of the quiche left and we had that for lunch with salad.. and then he went outside to cut the grass. I had an audible book which I downloaded and promptly went to sleep! 

So I hadn't seen any of the day and couldn't wait to get to bed.

Chrisxx

Yes Sooze its me in the chair at the top of the garden.

Hedges are hard work!

 My cough is more or less gone, the cough medicine was very good and I've had a couple of good night's sleep.(With the usual loo breaks!) But I'm feeling a lot better.. so I decided to help Dh to tidy up the front approach and drive way to our bungalow yesterday afternoon. We're plagued by Mountain Ash and Sycamore seeds from another property and they grow everywhere.

We have the hedges cut twice a year regularly and over the three years since we've been here, the cost has increased enormously, so last year we paid £1,500; hence we had the back 30m of 6ft privet hedge, which was very scrappy looking removed and a fence instead. It looks very nice and very tidy, especially, as I bought a whole lot of small garden trees and flowering shrubs to plant in front of the fence.

Photo is the new fence before we planted the small trees and shrubs.

This year I had booked a hedge firm that we used last Autumn, as he was fairly reasonable and he made a good job of the remaining side hedge, which is a 6ft Copper Beech at the top of our back garden and the one bordering our front garden just 4ft, a small leaf privet hedge. He was to come in February/March I did text him to 'touch base' just to remind him.. and he replied with 'he was waiting for a dry spell.'

Have you guessed what happened next? Yep, he didn't get back to me. Then in April I had a text to say that he had injured his shoulder and was giving up his hedge trimming business and would give our name to some one else! I just sorted some one myself, who was recommended on FB.. He came 2 weeks ago, and the work looked ok, so we were fairly happy. We said we'd see him in September. In case you haven't realised getting a hedge cutting firm has its problems!

But he didn't dig out the Mountain Ash small trees nor a couple of Sycamores which had sprung up in the hedging. So that's what Dh and I tackled, I also trimmed back some shoots on the Japonica, as it borders the drive and is quite prickly. We more or less tidied up all the bits he had missed.

 We also pulled out the ivy, as it grows faster than anything I've ever known.  We had some daisies in the paving spaces on the pathway to clear too, on the approach to the front door.

So all dug up, swept clean and we're looking good, and it does look very good too, as we had the bungalow front wall painted white last month, so we're very trim and tidy. We were very pleased with our work, especially as our neighbour, who has a building firm, cleared all the weeds from the road gutters last Monday evening, he and another man swept the road clean!!! You might wonder why? But he is one of the three houses by us, who have been having building work of one sort or another done since we moved here, 3 years in June. There's been a lot of muddy skip lorries, builders merchants delivering stuff and work men here the whole time and the road showed it too.

Being OAPs, we always finish what ever work we're doing at 3:00pm but we worked on to get it all finished. We were a good 3 hours in all. So when we came in for a cuppa, which was well deserved, Dh said..'what if we had the 4ft hedge on the side of the front garden removed and a picket fence put up instead???'

'Its an idea,' I replied!

Chrisxx

Coughing!

 

This squawking gull woke me this morning and for once I didn't mind, because I wasn't going to rush to get up anyway. I'm not well, I've a horrible cough.

Cough, cough, cough through the night, just a tickly cough and now a raw throat frim coughing, Dh got up with me in the night and made me a lovely hot cup of tea. Then he poked around in the depths of our shelves in our little pantry and low and behold he found a bottle of medicine! It soothed my throat and it stopped the cough. 

I'm so glad I have my Aunty's trend to buy stuff in case I might need it, hence we have our own little chemist's shop in the pantry!

We climbed back into bed and I slept for 2 unbroken hours. Where did it come from? We haven't socialized this week with anyone. 

But at least being retired I can sit around all day and if I feel up to it read. Although I think I might listen to the audible version of a favourite book, 'Remember Me' by Charity Norman, who is my favourite author.

Chrisxx

N.S.V.

 If you attend a slimming group or have done, you'll know that NSV, stands for Non Scale Victory.. so this was the talk on Friday. Things that have changed even when the scales don't show a big loss.

Most of the group said they could wear clothes that they hadn't been able to for a few years.. and these are some of the others;

Being able to cut their own toenails ; able to paint their toenails;

 doing up a belt on another hole; tum doesn't rub on the car steering wheel; bend over a pick up stuff off the floor; 

tights come up further; slacks are lose round legs; not afraid to wear a sleeveless top; 

long sleeves on jumpers come down further on arms; when jacket is zipped up, no fear it will burst open when you sit down; 

can see toes as tum flatter; can do up all the buttons on a top and it doesn't gap; 

Summer clothes fit; being able to go in a clothes shop and choose clothes from the smaller size racks;

 And the last comment was from a male, who said, he could see his willy when he looked down in the shower! Yes, the room of people erupted into laughter. There were other reasons too, but I think you can get the gist from these.

I admit to having a wardrobe full of clothes that are too small, but I tell Dh that I feel slimmer, because when I look down in the shower my boobs look flatter! So now you know my NSV!

Chrisxx