Dust bath party

This made my day :-) 

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I don't like Summer...

 But the feeling is mutual, Summer doesn't like me either.  

I was bitten ten times over two days this week, one was quite nasty and the swelling is only just going down.  I've tried all sorts of things over the years that are supposed to stop you getting bitten, nothing I've tried has worked, they always get me!

But apart from not liking bugs, because they like to nibble on me, I have a serious fear of things that flutter, so butterflies, moths, dragonflies, daddy longlegs, that sort of thing, but moths in particular.  I didn't go into our back sitting room for two days a few weeks ago because there was a huge moth in there, Mark was away so my son in law kindly came to evict it.  

Hubby likes to tell people how I abandoned the car in the middle of the high street once because a moth had got through the air vent, it's true, I did, It was about 10pm and I just stopped the car and got as far away as possible.  I stopped a random stranger, who must have thought I was a complete mad woman, but he got the moth out for me.  Might sound like a funny story but I would have walked home rather than get back in that car, and in fairness it was one of those big hairy things, ugh!!

Anyway, bugs and fluttering things aside I have managed to get quite a bit done in the garden this week.  The greenhouse has had a good sort out and clean,  I've washed and organized all the pots and modular trays and taken anything I wasn't going to use to the allotment sharing shelf

It been a bit of a chore going to water the allotment every night, I was complaining to Mark when he phoned that it was too much and that I might give my share of the allotment up when the season ends, sometimes it just feels like the work out ways the reward.

But then I came back with this little harvest on Monday and Wednesday and I'm chuffed to bits that I grew this food 😀

It seems I'm not the only one that's been suffering in the heat, my sweet peas at the allotment did really well for a couple weeks and now they are on the turn, the ones at home haven't really got going at all, a very poor show this year.  The fuchsias in the window boxes are doing okay, I got them from the garden centre this year and they haven't trailed as much as the ones that I've bought from Aldi in the past although the flowers are lovely and big.  Five of the eight dahlia's I planted came up, hoping they will grow a bit now they have been moved, I bought some copper scourers which I've stretched and put around the pots.  I got Mark to move the hydrangea in the pot to the middle of the boarder, the ground is just too hard to dig out to plant anything and it fills the place nicely, I can see it from the kitchen window too now. 

These are the copper scourers I used on the dahlia pots if anyone is interested.

 No grass was growing in this shaded corner so I cut it out and planted some shade loving plants a while ago, so far they are all doing really well, even the hosta has survived, I'm putting that success down to the wool pellets I scattered around.

And a few weeks ago Aldi had one of the pots I wanted for the mind your own business plant I bought in the Spring, I was happy to find one at a reasonable price, although he does look rather stern

The temperatures have cooled a little from earlier in the week, it's still sunny and warm but without the stifling heat we had at the beginning of the week.  Showers are due here at the weekend, that will be a blessing for the garden, the ground is so dry and cracked.

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Our first outing

 Weather wise we couldn't have picked a better week for our first caravaning adventure, there was only one night that we had a little bit of rain, but other than that it was hot and sunny every day, sometimes a little too hot.  

We chose Upton on Severn for our first trip, just 45 minutes down the motorway, a little longer If you take the scenic route.  The site was small and quiet and had everything needed, both the showers and toilets on site were clean.  The only downside was that there was no WIFI and it was hit and miss as to whether we could get online on our phones, although the call signal was fine, I was surprised how quickly I got used to not picking my phone up to check it every five minutes, lol.

We arrived on the Friday lunchtime and it was baking hot, Mark had never put an awning up before and although it was fairly straightforward, working in the heat made it difficult, while I sorted everything inside the van I could hear a fair bit of huffing, puffing and swearing going on outside, lol.  But as you can see he got there in the end.  

There were a couple of things that took time to sort out, the water wasn't coming through and it took the rest of the afternoon for Mark to sort that out, then the water wasn't getting though to flush the toilet so it was the next day before all the little niggles were sorted but there was nothing major and everything works as it should.

It's been an expensive month, besides buying the caravan its been like setting up another house with all the bits and pieces but we did have a couple good buys from fb marketplace, the porch air awning, roof bars, ground sheet and air pump cost us £140, they had only been used once and would have cost over £300 new and the awning carpet was another fb find for £40 again looked like new and the price ticket of £72 was still on the bag.

As I said the weather was great all week so we have spent a lot of time sitting and reading, listening to music and in my case some stitching and knitting and the occasional afternoon nap.  It was very relaxing, just what we both needed.  We did have a few outings, we walked into Upton a couple times and drove out to Tewksbury and Ledbury, both about 20 minutes away.

I'll leave you with some photos I took while we were away, we were both pleasantly surprised by Ledbury and will definitely try and get back there over the Summer.

Upton on Severn

We both fell in love with Ledbury, lovely shops, beautiful buildings and great history

Enjoying the beautiful countryside

Lovely sunset at the caravan park

Start of a new month tomorrow, hope you have a good one

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A finish and a day out

You might remember that I almost finished knitting the Whitmore sweater a while ago then decided when I'd got to within the cuff of the second sleeve that It was too big.  I didn't want to rip it back and put the yarn back into stash so instead I straight away cast on the Salty Air Tee by Samantha Guerin.

I'd had my eye on this pattern for a while, it's a similar lace pattern to the Whitmore sweater and the same top down construction.

The pattern Calls for 4ply yarn but I was using DK so I knit a smaller size and it came out a perfect fit, I'm really happy with it and have already worn it several times, and being a cotton mix it's perfect for our changeable Summer weather.

I can see me knitting more of these, It seemed to knit up so quickly because once you have finished the body there is very little knitting on the sleeves.

That's all I have in the way of finishes, I haven't stitched in ages and haven't picked up any knitting at all this past week.  Mark picked up the caravan last Sunday and I've been out and about sourcing the various bits and pieces needed.  I did raid my kitchen cupboards for some things that I have multiple of, but I don't want to be packing up items from the kitchen each time we go away, so after a visit to Ikea and various other stores last week I think we are just about equipped for our first adventure :-)

I had a mini adventure on my own today, a trip to Oxford.  When I booked it I thought It was on a Monday but no matter It was still a good day out.  It was only an hour on the coach, we arrived at 11.30 and pick up was at 5pm.  I'd never visited before and rather than wander around aimlessly I decided to take the hop on/off tour bus, that way I would see and hear a bit more about the City.  The price of the ticket also included an hour long walking tour, so I took advantage of that too.  There is far too much to see and do in the time I was there and I mentioned to Mark when I came back that perhaps we could see if there Is a caravan site near and we could visit again over the Summer,  I would especially love a browse around the historic Blackwells book shop which has a whopping 250,000 books,(might be in there a while, lol).  

 

As you can see it was blue sky weather today, we have mostly missed the heavy rain that some parts have had and it looks like the good weather will continue for our first caravanning adventure, yayyy.

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New adventures await us

 For a long time I've wanted a touring caravan and had a dream of touring the UK visiting all the wonderful places it has to offer.  We have been looking for several weeks and finally today we found one that we liked enough to buy 😀  It's not new, just new to us.

We had arranged a viewing of a different caravan but on speaking to the seller about another van we were hoping to view this afternoon she suggested that we look at another one she had for sale but hadn't  advertised yet.  As soon as I walked in I knew it was the one I preferred, and Mark felt the same.  The interior was lighter and although it was a little smaller it didn't feel cramped, and it has the fixed bed that we wanted plus the seating area also doubles as a bed if needed. 

 

We've looked at some awful caravans in our search that had price tags that far exceeded what you would expect to pay for the condition they were in, but I think we've had a good buy with this one, everything is in a good clean condition, It's obviously been looked after and it was bang on our budget.

I'm over the moon!  We are looking forward to many adventures exploring new places and of course I can't wait to go and buy all the little extras that will make it ours. 💕

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 All my plants and seedlings had come on in leaps and bounds while I was away, my new sowings of runner beans were only just beginning to show when I left, they grew about a foot in a week!  

The garden needed a good tidying up after being unattended for a week, I spent all day Sunday doing that as well as my holiday washing.  Good job I did as it hasn't stopped raining since, looks like I chose the best week to go away 😉

Tons of strawberries just waiting now for a bit of sun to ripen them.  The birds have been eating some of the ones on the allotment, we've covered them in netting now so hopefully that will stop them.  It's not a problem I've had with the ones in my garden

Beautiful yellow roses, all came out in the week I was away, hopefully the rain won't destroy them all.

Monday was a Bank Holiday, I met up with Joanne at the allotment and we spent the day there, it drizzled most of the time but we managed to fashion a structure to grow our courgettes up.  We finished just as the rain started to come heavier.

We have lots of lovely lettuce and rocket already and still picking radish.  We will plant more in the coming weeks so that we have a supply through the Summer.

Do you like our cute signs?  We bought a few different ones from the Malvern Spring show and I've ordered another couple from Amazon.  They are metal so should last longer than the wooden ones we used last year.

I didn't get home until late on Saturday, I decided to have a ride to Bangor and Beaumaris on the way home.  Bangor town was much the same as Colwyn Bay, a bit run down.  I did walk to find the pier, It was a bit of a trek though and there was a charge of £1.  

Nice views looking out over the Menai Strait though.

This house looked like it would a bit too close to the water for comfort when the tide came in. 😨

Beaumaris was only fifteen minutes away so I thought I might as well go there too as I was so close.  

In hind sight I should have given Bangor a miss and gone straight to Beaumaris.

I managed to get a parking spot right by the pier but It was limited to an hour I did take a walk along the pier but is was so windy, honestly I've never experienced trying to walk in wind that strong! and I was wearing a dress not a good combination, never mind hanging on to my hat, I was making sure I hung onto my dress to save my modesty😅

Beaumaris castle stands on the edge of the town, sadly I didn't have time to explore either the castle or much of the picturesque street but I did stumble on a little doorway that said Castle Garden Centre.

What a gem and what a great entrance to a garden centre 

And beyond that was a lovely space, more garden than garden centre selling not only plants but garden ornaments, pots and quirky things with lovely winding paths, beautiful,  I could have spent more time there but was aware that I had to be back to my car before the hour was up.

So if you are in the area my advice would be to bypass Bognor and head to Beaumaris instead.

On a completely different note, we have new neighbours.  My lovely neighbour, Doug, died at the beginning of the year, he was 96 and was such a lovely man and I still miss popping in to see him and taking him some cake and having a natter, he did love my homemade cakes bless him.   Anyway now his family have sold the house.  I haven't seen anyone yet, a small van came yesterday and bought some bits of furniture and I saw lights on last night.  

It's always a bit of a worry getting new neighbours isn't it?  

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A little train ride

Colwyn Bay is only 20 minutes by train from Llandudno and as Llandudno train station is right on the edge of the town centre and Colwyn Bay station is right on the beach, that's where I decided to go yesterday.  The weather didn't look very promising first thing, It was cooler than the day before and looked like it might rain, but it blew over and the afternoon turned out quite warm.  

There is no pier at Colwyn Bay, it fell into disrepair and was eventually demolished following a fire, all that is left now is the small boardwalk.  From what I've read there are plans reinstate a pavilion in the future, but like everything It comes down to costs I suppose, but it would make such a difference. 

The Bay is stunning, the beach stretches for miles, (or so it seems) and I would imagine the previous day it wasn't so deserted.  I have to say though that the beach is the highlight of Colwyn Bay, although there didn't seem to be any facilities there on this particular day, one lonely coffee / ice cream van wasn't doing much trade and it was a bit windy to sit outside so I took the short walk into town to get a coffee.

The town was a disappointment, mostly boarded up shop fronts, very run down and neglected.   There was a small shopping centre and I ended up going there for coffee while I waited for the next train back.   I suppose every area has a town that isn't what it used to be, such a shame.

I've been packing up my things tonight and will be heading home tomorrow, I want to visit one more place while I'm this way, if the weather holds.  I've been so lucky with the weather this week, it's been warm and sunny every day, I think next week is all change with rain coming in for most of the week, the gardens will be happy.

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A drive out

 I took a drive out yesterday.  The Menai Strait separating the mainland of Wales and the island of Anglesey and it's famous suspension bridge is only thirty minutes from Llandudno.  I had never seen it, so something to cross of my list of things to see while i'm here.  

Designed by Thomas Telford it was the worlds first major suspension bridge.  Work started in 1819 and was completed in 1826, it still carries road traffic and is a Grade I listed structure.   Before the bridge was built crossing to the mainland was difficult as this particular stretch of water has strong currents and whirlpools created by the four tidal flows each day and the twice a day tides.   These kind of structures always amaze me, built without modern day tools and machinery, (and all the risk assessments and method statements needed to do anything today,) they managed to build something that not only looks good but is serviceable and has stood for almost 200 years.

I didn't visit the town instead I drove a few miles down the road to the Hidden Gardens and spent a lovely couple of hours walking through this hidden valley garden.

(playing around with my phone, i'm quite impressed, lol)

I can highly recommend a visit if you are in the area.

 I couldn't visit Anglesey without seeing the station with the longest name in Wales and perhaps the world?

The name is 58 letters long and the translation is -

"Church of St. Mary in the hollow of the white hazel near the rapid whirlpool and the church of St. Tysilio near the red cave"

That's a bit of a mouth full to say, instead the village name is shortened to Llanfairpwllgwyngyll, still unpronounceable in my case, as are most Welsh words 😄

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