My new favourite place

Colour Accents

For my BIG birthday I have been lucky enough to get two pressies.  One is a smashing swinging hammock, something I have always wanted (reminds me of swinging up my parents back garden in the Summer reading a book, and of my folk's BBQ parties too :) ).  It's currently sitting in the shed in it's box waiting for the sunshine to be put up. I guess it's a bit old fashioned, but I prefer to think of it as 'retro' (along with my new addiction to crazy paving)!  The other is a quality 'point and shoot' camera.  I've ordered a refurbished, factory sealed Canon S95 which although a few years old now gets great reviews and takes exactly the sort of pictures I want to take - it also allows me to take fully manual photos too.  During my investigations into which camera I want, I found info on using the colour accent facility on my old Canon IXUS - much fun has been had this morning!

 

The Nature Reserve

It was an absolutely gorgeous weekend - perfect temp, sunny and a slight breeze. We spent most of the day in the garden sorting it out (nothing like party preparation to get you tidying), it now looks really, really lovely (pics to follow when I'm totally finished). Anyway the hubster and I decided to got for a wander around the local nature reserve in the evening. This is at about 8pm....


....gorgeous!

Feet travels

I saw an idea in a photography magazine where you take photos of your feet in the interesting places you have been. Like a kind of travels journal. I really liked that idea so here is my first entry. As I haven't actually been anywhere this weekend - just spending the time in the glorious weather making my back garden look lovely, this is where my first piccy is from.

The Folder Trials

We went to collect the hubbies bike on Saturday and popped to Rother Valley Country Park on the way back to test them out. Fab!  So light and comfortable. We followed the mountain bike map that you can pick up there which certainly gave them a workout but also gave us some gorgeous views.

Things I really liked were steep hills were easy to push your bike up, steps down I practically carried the bike and it felt like you were supposed to mooch along on them looking at the scenery which meant the hubby meandered along with me rather than racing ahead :) . It was a gorgeous day weather wise as well, what more could you ask for? Can't wait for my jollies now!



Parked up for a spot of lunch on a bench

The view from the lunch bench.  Rother Valley Country Park is actually rather lovely!

Folders!

I went and bought another bike :) The hubby and I have made plans for a bit of touring. We have a plan to hop on and off of various types of transport and cycle around when we get to wherever we are going. For this we decided we needed folding bikes :) ! I looked around at some of the great and classic folders and even managed to sit on a few, but as they are usually unisex some didn't feel comfortable and some were downright uncomfortable! Dahon, while being said to be one of the best, and though hubby liked it, it really didn't fit me (too short in the arm department). Bromptons are way beyond our budget and others such as Tern (just didn't like it) and Raleigh (too heavy) weren't right either. So what to get? In the end I chose a Hoptown 5 from Decathlon. Not the most popular or coveted folder but it seems great so far - it got good reviews and is supposed to have links with Dahon (though it still needs a proper test drive, so time will tell).  Hubs likes it too, not too girlie either, this one had to fit me comfortably and be function over form (though I do like how it looks too!).

My lovely little B'twin folder

I've ordered a pannier rack for it and i need to find some baggage and we're good to go!

The hubby has also chosen a bike, a Carrerra Transport which we pick up on Sat - watch this space :)

A Little Bit of Love

So I walked up the hill to begin my run from the usual hightest point and as I was nearing it I walked by a tree.  Up hanging on the tree was the sweetest  little crocheted lilac heart.  I stopped and had a good look at it, it really made me smile.  I really would have liked to take it from the tree and keep it, but I wasn't sure if you were supposed to or if by doing so it would make someone really sad - so I left it where it was and went off on my run(/shuffle).

Last night I thought I would have a quick look on line to see if I could find out anything about it or if there was a reason behind why someone would be hanging little hearts on a tree and I couldn't believe it when there on the second site I clicked on - was a photo of the little heart (or one of it's brothers at least).  I clicked on a link to the blog and there was my tree! 

Dominiques' blog

I contacted Dominque who made the hearts and asked if I she would mind if I went back and collected it and then popped back in the dark last night to do just that.

The little heart still hanging on the tree when I returned to fetch it.

Up Close - so sweet!

I absolutely love it, it's so sweet and somehow really special - made all the more so by the fact that I found out who had made it :).  I did have a look around for the others from the pics, but they were gone, I guess to new homes!

I then returned and spent the rest of my evening learning to make crocheted hearts (from here - Little Birdie Secrets) with scraps of yarn and a crochet hook I dug out from the depths of a drawer.  Then this morning I made a granny square (get me, I know all the lingo now :) ) (from here - Bethintx1 on Youtube).  The Girlie had a go at crochet too and I gained a simple (but lovely) necklace from it :).  We then popped into town to buy some more yarn, better needles and a book (I know I can find all the info I could ever need online, but we really liked this one).  The next couple of days are now planned and I feel a new fad coming on!  Thanks Dominique!

My first attempts at hearts and a granny square - in fact my first go at any sort of crochet other than a chain, plus the new book :)

Do pop over an have a look at her blog where she explains what she got up to! My Other Loves x

Spuddies!

They look like they're having a meeting :)  They've been happily sitting on my kitchen windowsill for the last couple of weeks.

4 sorts, 5 of each Charlotte, Red Duke of York, Anya and Apache all from Wilkos.

I really don't need any more than this.  I don't like storing them, I just want the 'just dug up - going to eat them straight away'ness that you get with growing your own early/new spuds.  I will still buy jackets etc. from the shop as I'm really quite particular about my jackpots.  These fellas will go in the garden border wherever there is a gap as a bit of pot luck surprise when we dig them up.  Can't wait now!

Beginning with the Herby Patch

So I had planned to sow seeds today, but it was such a nice day that the garden called me instead.  I'd not really been out in ages (or at all this year so far) but I could see that the herb raised bed was in need of some attention and as it is right outside my kitchen window I had the urge to attack it. 

Pre ambush...

I needed to pull out the sage on the left that was really straggly and I'll replace that with a new variety in a month or so, plus the oregano also needed a haircut.  I then went on to tidy the peony and spirea behind it and then the bushes and fatsia top left.  Swept up and 'voila' much neater!

You can see everything now, the pot in the middle of the raised herb bed is full of lovely, lovely alpine strawbs, there's nothing in the pot back left, but that's where I usually put a french flat leaved parsley (as it tends to get a bit crowded otherwise).  There are a variety of mints in a terracotta pot sunk in the bed at the back and chives back right.  There is also a marjoram in there somewhere, though not sure where as it tends to get smothered by the oregano and can only see it when it grows up and through it.  

I fancy having another go at growing a rosemary again too this year.  I used to have a smashing one in the bed before we raised it, but is was old and didn't survive the cull.  When I re-planted a new baby one in the new bed I think it was perhaps a bit too rich for it and it died, as did the next two so I haven't had one for a few years now.  I think the bed has been sufficiently neglected now though to have another bash.  I might mix some grit in there too before I plant one.  Actually, I might buy two and pop the other one somewhere else in the garden as a back up!

So Sad!

I can't even begin to understand why anyone - even kids - would think that this is an okay thing to do!  It happened while I was on the school run.  On the way home I saw a lad throwing a huge snowball at his friends and when I got there realised it was the Snowdog (sock ear, twigs, satumu and snow all over the road) and they had been onto our garden to push over the Snowman too.  I was so sad and so angry for the girlie who was absolutely devastated, it was heartbreaking. 

We were in the process of remaking him when more (the same?) lads threw a snowball at us and ran away.  I then decided that the Snowman was not at all safe in our front garden and moved him to the back (where I must admit that he looks much happier - if a bit shorter :) ).  It was a bit of an effort - I had to saw him into sections to be able to lift him through the house - we then put him back together and filled in the gaps.  The Girlie and I then made Snowdog II.  The Girlie told me that Snowdog I is now in that place where the snowmen all go to play/ski etc. waiting for the other two to come when the snow melts - I like that!

A New Year!

Ahhh, the new year has arrived and so has the snow!  The Girlie, her mate and I made The Snowman and The Snowdog (plus woodland pal) for the front garden.  They look great standing guard, though we did have to remove a layer of new snow this morning - the Snowdog's head was completly covered!  The snow is really packable and perfect for making snow creations.  

We went on a trek to find an new sledging run yesterday and best of all I got a snow day today - hoorah! (or it would be hoorah, if I didn't have loads to do! - at least I don't have to dig the car out!).  I'll try to squeeze in a bit of online seed shopping today too, the garden is obviously covered in snow, but oddly that makes me more keen to get sorting it for this year.