Sun is still shining here

We made the most of the good weather last weekend and spent Saturday at the Malvern Spring show  We've visited the Autumn show a few times, the Spring one I thought was a bit smaller but very similar in the way of plants.  I came home with some herbs and Joanne bought some ferns and hostas for a shady part of her garden and we shared the cost of some wood to  make a brassica case for the allotment.

New herbs, spearmint, strawberry mint, thyme and a cola plant, (yes it does smell like cola).

I also got a mind your own business plant, It's  creeper so I'm on the look out for a pot with a face so that It will look like hair when it grows.

Our allotment space has doubled.  I knew the plot next to us had been given up and then Joanne announced that she had requested it!   It's still mostly coved in weed control, although Joanne has managed to clear a good section already.  The rest will be cleared a bit at a time. 

The other plot is looking good with everything doing well at the moment, we have even had our first radishes 😋

Last Sunday was our Quarry Bank Stitching day, always a lovely get together and I even won one of the raffle prizes this time 😉  

I stitched on Mary Margaret again, no photos this time, I'll share again when I closer to a finish.

 I'm on a countdown to a week away and so looking forward to a change of scenery, but before that comes the preparation.  I cleaned and tidied my greenhouse yesterday, my son in law is going to come and water my plants and seedlings for me so I wanted to leave everything grouped together so that It will be easier for him.  My tomato plants are mostly in the conservatory, there are a lot, and hopefully they will be ok for a week, I think it's still probably too early to plant out at the allotment just yet.

I'm looking forward to some rest and relaxation, lots of knitting and stitching time and hopefully the good weather will continue and I can get a fair bit of walking in too.

Take care

-X-

Catching up

 It's been a couple weeks since I mentioned that I was going on a stitching day and a trip the day after,  I always plan on posting and then I keep putting it off.  Anyway, I originally missed getting my name down for this recent stitching day, It's a popular venue hosted by two lovely ladies at a hotel about 20 minutes drive from home.  The places fill up fast so you have to be pretty quick once they start taking names but, I was lucky this time as they had switched rooms and had a few more places available. 

  I had a lovely day stitching, chatting and eating yummy food, I forgot to take any photos though, I was too busy stitching.  I took Mary Margaret with me to work on, still a fair bit to go on this one but every stitch takes me closer to a finish, right?

The following day was my day trip - I've never visited Bakewell so when I saw a coach trip advertised I booked myself on it.  We had a bonus stop in Matlock Bath en route, only for 45 minutes but it was enough to stretch our legs and get a cuppa, (or in my case an ice cream).  Matlock Bath is very pretty and I imagine there are some nice walks so perhaps somewhere to re-visit another time.  One thing I did find very strange, In that small stretch of shops there were no fewer than 7 fish & Chip shops!

We couldn't have chosen a better day weather wise for a day out and although I didn't find anything on the market in Bakewell to tempt me, (well except for a couple of books, I can always find a book or two to bring home), It was a really lovely day.  I found a lovely wool shop, and yes I did make a purchase, I sat with a coffee and read my book and I had a walk around the beautiful town. It was perfect.

The centre piece of Bakewell are the Bath Gardens, a very nice place to sit a while and take a break from the shops.

The Old Original Bakewell Pudding shop building with it's interesting window dates bake to the 17th centaury.  A Mrs Wilson lived there and she became aware of a new pudding that had been created by accident by the cook at a local inn, the pudding, although not what was requested was a hit and Mrs Wilson saw a potential business opportunity for making and selling the pudding and 'acquired' the recipe.  

The Bakewell Puddings are still made by hand to that original recipe today.  They are very different to a bakewell tart, which has icing and a cherry on the top.  

I took one home with me to try and although it was ok I think I much prefer the bakewell tart.

​

 And speaking of puddings, have you heard of the Book & Pudding club? 

  They were a new one on me, a friend mentioned at the stitching day that she goes to one, although that particular one is full I found another local to me held at the cafe in the park.  As the weather was beautiful that night the meeting was held outside this time, there were a fair few there and the previous books discussion was lively, Sarah, the host, had prepared some great questions to put forward.  There was also a raffle with three book prizes were up for grabs, (sadly my number wasn't called) and a free book table.  

The next months book is chosen by a vote, three books are put forward, a leaflet with a photo of the books and a synopsis is handed out and you simply vote for the book you would like to read and discuss next time.  You do have to source you own copy of the book for these clubs and there is a monthly fee for attending but I thought I would see how it goes.   Unfortunately, (for me), the book that received the most votes is one that I have already read, In Memoriam by Alice Winn.  I don't mind too much, I really loved the book and it will be interesting to hear everyone's thoughts on it next time.

  And last by not least, I finished a pair of shorty socks using left over yarn.

I hope you all have a lovely weekend, I have yet another stitching retreat day to go to on Sunday, so I'm sure I'll have a good one😁 

-X-

Last week

Last weekends Bank Holiday weather wasn't a complete washout, the worst day was Saturday and even then we didn't get as much rain as forecast.  It did put me off going to the allotment though and Instead I took a trip to the library.  I have plenty of books on my 'to read' shelf but none of them were calling to me and I hadn't liked our book club choice, (again).  It was our book club this Thursday and after we all had something to say about the book choices over the last couple of years we were told that a new list is being put together, fingers crossed that we get some better titles in the future.  

In the meantime I chose these three and have already read both Beautiful Ugly and The Invisible Hour this week and enjoyed them.

I've spent a lot of time at the allotment this week clearing weeds and topping up the compost, I've also planted the broad beans, sweet peas and some lettuce, rocket and sowed some parsnip seeds.  I took a chance and planted out the runner beans but I don't think they will be any good and I will need to plant more later on.  It's my own fault, I didn't realise that I started them too soon, I have enough beans to start over so nothing lost really.

My bargain £5 growing tunnel from fb market place

All weeded, top up compost added and looking neat, there is something therapeutic and satisfying about pulling weeds, especially when they pull up easily 😉

 

The carrots I sowed a couple weeks ago haven't appeared yet but I have loads of radish seedlings which will need thinning out next week.  There's not a lot else to plant out at the moment, I don't think we will bother with cabbage or cauliflower this time, they take up too much space and we didn't have much luck with them last year.  I have got some more seeds to sow in trays tomorrow but will have to do some jiggery pokery in the greenhouse to make room for them!  Plus I have a few trays of seedlings which need potting on this week If I get chance.

I didn't leave the allotment until around 7pm yesterday, there were only a few of us by that time and just as I was packing up one kind fella came round and gave us all a bunch of flowers, he said he had too many on his plot to take home, I love how everyone on the site is kind and friendly and will share whatever they have, such a small gesture but it made my day.

I've got a couple things to look forward to this coming week, Sunday I'm at a stitching day and on Monday I'm going on a coach trip, I'll tell you how I got on on both next time.

Have a good weekend

-X-

Progress and ripping back

 Hoot in a Boot was a new start at the Somerset retreat in March, It's the only thing I've been stitching on since so I've made good progress.

The making-up instructions use felt for the backing, I need to have a look around to see where I can buy some wool felt, I think the wool kind will be much softer and easier to handle than the synthetic.

Remember the Whitmore sweater I was knitting?

I'd knitted the second sleeve down to the cuff ribbing a few nights ago and tried it on again.  When I looked again I thought It looked too big.  I did knit a gauge swatch and it's the same size I knit previously, but this one just feels too big in the body, and I've got a sneaky feeling it might 'grow' when washed, perhaps this yarn wasn't the best choice for this project.   So, I've decided, (more  or less) to rip it all back and use the yarn for something else.  

I know, all that work,😭

 I do love how it looks on the hanger, but I probably wouldn't wear it if it feels big.  I'd considered ripping back to the underarms but I think the increases start in the yolk, I'll check first before ripping it all out.

Arty had a birthday this week, can't believe he is seven already!

He's such a cheeky monkey, and the complete opposite to Oliver.  Oliver is the spitting image of his dad and can be quite serious and Arty is just like his mum and a bit of a rascal, but a very lovable rascal. 

~~~~~~~

We haven't had the promised rain here yet, well, not enough to make any difference anyway so I've popped down the allotment this morning to water what we planted and now I'm going outside to plant up my sweet peas.  My conservatory is in danger of being taken over by the runner beans I planted too early so I'm going to throw caution to the wind and plant them out over the weekend.  If they survive, great, if they don't I have some more beans I can put in to replace them.

We haven't got anything planned for the Easter weekend, Mark is off work until Tuesday and other than taking some flowers to the crem tomorrow I don't think we will be doing anything.  The kids will pop in on Sunday for their Easter eggs, I'm not doing a egg hunt this year.  I've bought them one egg and some sweets each, It's hard for me not to over-indulge them but with four children to buy for it can get out of hand.

Hope you have a lovely Easter weekend whatever you are planning.

-X-

Springing up all over

 We're only a little over a week into the lighter nights and already I'm not keen.  I struggle with lighter nights much more than when the nights draw in, I find it hard to call it a day and be done when It's still light, It seems there is always one more thing that has to be done and then before you know it it's time for bed!  I need to be stricter with myself, set myself a reasonable cut off time for the day to be done.

I have been making the most of the nice weather though and spent some time Monday afternoon at the allotment and got carrots and radish seeds in and also planted some of the onions I'd started off at home, (thank you to whoever mentioned starting them in cells, I'm sorry I can't remember who it was now to give you credit).  

I've covered them all in mesh just until the seeds start to pop up, then I'll set them free.

I've tidied my greenhouse out again and moved some of my sweet peas and sunflowers into there.  Mark got me a couple pieces of wood to make more shelving space, I have plenty more seedlings to go in there over the next few weeks.  Everything is doing really well at the moment, the only things that don't seem to be showing any signs of life yet are the dahlia's.

I made the mistake of sewing my runner been too early and now they are already quite big and it's still not warm enough to put them out!  They're in decent sized pots so I'm hoping they will be ok until at least the end of the month.

I bought two dozen hazel sticks locally from fb market place so we are all set up ready to plant them out once the weather warms up a bit more.

We have a strawberry patch all planted up and a few more added today because I drove past somewhere that was selling them for 50p each, couldn't pass up that bargain.

I collected our Spring seed pack today, we get a free one twice a year, 26 packets of mostly veg and salad but there are some flowers in there too.  Looks like I'll be busy again over the weekend, ha ha.

And there is a plug plant party at the allotment on Saturday morning so I'll be going to see what's on offer, they are all free so might as well take advantage.

My garden is coming to life too with all the sunshine we've been having.

My hosta's have grown such a lot in a week and there are alliums popping up all over, the Pieris is putting on a lovely show.

I came across this photograph on Google showing a completely cloud-free sky across the whole of the British Isles, apparently the image, which was taken on April 2nd, was so clear that sediment patterns could be seen off the coast.  March was the sunniest since records began with 185.8 hours of sunshine.  It has certainly been a lovely start to Spring, much better than last year when we had snow and sleet in April.

We are still getting wonderful blue sky's here, although we are forecast some much needed rain on Sunday and into the following week, the kids break up for Easter on Friday so of course it was going to rain, lol.

 In-between all the outside jobs I have been knitting and stitching and I will share an update on that next time.

Take care

-X-

Another month gone already

Another month of the year gone so quickly, but the weather has been good and a lot of jobs in the garden have been ticked off, so that's good.  I over-seeded the top lawn last week, I haven't seen many birds stealing the seeds so fingers crossed we should see signs of growth in the next couple weeks.  I also went ahead and purchased two small raised beds for the top of the garden, we have yet to fill them, but that's ok I'm not ready to plant anything out just yet.

The one last big job outside is to jet wash the path and patio, that is on tomorrow list of things to do.

We still have daffs out and for once they haven't been battered by rain or snow.

The grass just before over-seeding, there should be fewer bald patches in a couple weeks

Yesterday was Mothers Day here in the UK, we went out for lunch with Joanne and the kids, Stevie and Jenny popped round later in the afternoon.  They all spoilt me with lovely cards, flowers and gifts, Joanne also got me a seat I can use for gardening and planting, that will save my poor knees 😂, (not in the photo as it wasn't assembled)

As you know Joanne and Gavin are no longer together but he usually makes sure Bonnie and Jacob have something to give Joanne for Mothers Day but for some reason he didn't offer to take them to buy her anything this time so me and Mark took them out on Saturday to get flowers and choose a gift, they also made her cupcakes while they were here.

They wrapped everything up and when I took them home hid everything in Bonnies wardrobe, they were so excited to give her the things they'd bought, Joanne said they went and woke her up at 6am 😆

I've been for my second physio appointment this morning, I think the exercises are slowly working and he was happy that I could now do a more difficult version of one of them.  I'm still in pain most days, some days are worse than others but I'm following the exercise plan so hopefully one day everything will settle down.

Mark had the results of his prostate biopsy last week, it was benign, so nothing nasty to worry about, which was a relief.  He has another appointment in June to assess him again to see what they can offer him in the way of help as his prostate is enlarged and that's what's causing him to have frequent bathroom visits.  The letter also listed some of the treatment options, tablets are the easiest treatment, the operation for more troublesome cases doesn't sound very nice and requires time in hospital and at least four weeks at home.  Needles to say he is hoping that he will be able to have the tablets option.

I've been stitching lots this past week and made great progress on my Hoot in a Boot which I'll share next time.  

Wishing you all a wonderful April

-X-

Weekend stitching retreat

 I've had the most wonderful weekend away, it was just what I needed, stitching with friends, chatting and laughing and eating tasty food.  I mentioned before that since Christmas I haven't been stitching but I enjoyed sorting out and kitting up a new start to take with me and certainly made up for my few months stitching drought while I was away.

I decided to start my weekend on the Thursday, I spent the day in Wells and had booked a Premier Inn for the night so that on the Friday morning it was just a short drive to our hotel for the retreat.

I've visited Wells a few times, It's not a big place but has City status because of it's Cathedral, not many shops but It's nice for a wander round.  I had thought of looking around the Cathedral this time but I felt the £14 entrance fee was a little expensive plus I'd only got an hour left on my parking ticket so It wasn't really worth it, but an excuse for a visit another time.

Such an impressive building, and as you can see it was blue sky all the way on Thursday.

Wells is also home to one of the oldest residential streets left in Europe, Vicars Close.  It was built in the 14th century to house the Vicars Choral. Today it is still home to the vicars choral for the cathedral the organist and vergers.

Those chimneys are impressive arn't they

It was a thirty minute drive from the hotel in Wells to our retreat hotel so I was able to arrive nice and early on Friday to start my stitching weekend.

Our stitching room was upstairs and was perfect, big enough so that we all had space but not so big that you couldn't interact with others, plenty of light too.

There were some vendors through the weekend selling charts fabric and other stitching goodies as well as a freebie table and a destash table.  Karen and Anabelle did a fantastic job of arranging everything and looking after us all, they also hosted a smalls exchange and a raffle.  I think most of the attendees donated a raffle prize, the money raised, (£200), went to the prostate cancer charity in memory of Anabelle's step dad who sadly very recently lost his fight with prostate cancer.

I didn't take part in the smalls exchange but a good number did, there were some amazing and creative finishes.

I'd kitted up Hoot in a Boot to take with me and thoroughly enjoyed stitching again.  I had taken my  Mary Margaret stitching along in case I wanted a change but I was enjoying my new start so much that she never saw the light of day.

I avoided temptation and didn't add to my stash except for a new, larger grime guard and a chart from the de-stash table.  I think is a fairly old chart as I remember liking it years ago, and It still appeals to me.

Love the words

So that was my first weekend retreat and it won't be my last, I've put my name down for the November one :-) 

I didn't take my laptop so I'm behind on blog reading and commenting , I will catch up on your posts during the week.

-X

Oh dear, it seems I've been picked up on a spelling mistake 😂 I've corrected it now, I'll try better with the editing next time🤣