Life Happens

Remembering Sadie 1920 - 2010, my mother-in-law.

There have been a few cheerful incidents this last couple of weeks and one of them was receiving this give-away from Fiona in Australia

I was only expecting the blackwork box that you can see at the front right but Fiona included all the other beautiful things too.  Thank you Fiona, you are too generous!!!  It's amazing how receiving these things from fellow bloggers adds that bit extra to our lives.  Another example of how the internet can be a good place.  Apart from the occasional virus, when it became the fashion for idiots to try and ruin the internet experience for everyone, I can't say I've had any negative contacts and now that virus checkers and fire walls are much more sophisticated there is less chance of being infected by these morons.  A bit of common sense helps too, where scams and such like are concerned.  It's meeting people like Fiona that make my life more interesting.

So, to celebrate the all-round niceness I've experienced with friends I've made through the internet, I'm having a give-away too.

You can never have enough of these project bags!!!  They are so handy for all those projects that you have on the go or all those bits and pieces that need to be kept together.  This one includes the pincushion and strawberry shaped scissor fob.  The scissor fob is my latest addition to the accessories I enjoy making.  I was going to give a link to the tutorial that I used but of course I can't find it now.

Just leave a comment and I will draw the winner on 6th June

It's Getting Warmer

This morning I went up to my veg plot to check on everything and decided that I'll have to do some serious watering up there.  The wind has swung round to the west and it feels quite warm and even a bit humid today.

This bed has cabbage and cauliflower in the centre and broad beans around the edge.  These brassicas are doing well.  In the past I've blamed slugs and snails on my poor results but have come to the conclusion that it is the wood pigeons that were doing the damage.  I keep the centre area of this bed covered with mesh and so far there is no damage.  The broad beans will need staking soon, they are starting to lean, they do have lots of flowers on them so I'm looking forward to a good few portions off my few plants.

The courgette is still in the greenhouse, I was worried about it getting nipped my frost but I think that it will be going out very soon.  It has already got a couple of courgettes forming.

This little trough contains my succulents, I thought that the cold winter had killed them all off but suddenly this plant started to flower, what a sight for sore eyes it is!

On a completely different note - I have a personal quest (or hobby) to find the answer to 'Life, The Universe And Everything' (that's meant to be a bit of a humorous way of putting it).  I've read a lot of books, asked many questions and thought a lot.  Someone once told me that I think too much, I probably do.  One author who talks a lot of sense and puts into words a lot of things that go around in my head is Dorothy Rowe.  I've read most of her books and I've met her.  When I found out that she had a blog I felt very pleased, I'd be able to keep up with what she is doing.

  Well, remember how I mentioned that the election was getting on my nerves (because all politicians are c**p).  When I visited her blog today she had written an excellent article about politicians, she put into words all that I'd tried to articulate myself and Dorothy being so well read could explain things clearly.  I'm looking forward to her new book 'Why We Lie'.

Lettuce Leaves & Bean Sprouts

I'm really pleased with the mixed lettuce seedling pot I bought at the garden centre.  It cost £1.25 and I've already had my money's worth from it.  Some is in the portable grow bag outside my backdoor and some is in the ground in my veg plot.  It's growing amazingly fast even though the weather is still cold and wet.

It's a lovely feeling that I'm already getting produce from my garden.

Another thing I'm doing that I haven't done since the 1970s is sprout some beans in a jar

A couple more days and these will be ready to use.  Doing this was very popular in the 1970s but I got out of the habit of doing it myself.  I've used Mung beans here, it amazes me that the dried beans from the supermarket are still viable.  I think it was Peggy or it might have been Nic who said one of their fellow allotment holders recommended using dried peas instead of the relatively expensive packets from the garden centre (not for sprouting, for growing).  I'm also growing Mooli radish that will be good for stir frying too but they won't be ready for a while yet.

I have been doing some sewing.  The pincushion swap with Tiny Treasures Exchange Too blog is ready to go, I just need to buy a postcard to send with it, I always forget this bit.  And I'm part way through making yet another project bag and accessories, it's always good to have a few of these made, I just never know when I'll need one!!!  Wish I'd kept count of how many I've made altogether.  The doll house miniature hutch/dresser challenge I'm supposed to be in isn't coming on so well, I can see me dropping out of this, I just can't get going with it.  Never mind, it's not often I drop out of anything.  I've got another challenge coming up soon with the Yahoo handstitching group I'm in, it's to make a decorated sewing box.

I'm feeling a bit fed up with the weather, the continual news about the election and the fact that my dog isn't very well.  He fell down stairs a couple of weeks ago and broke two of his claws off, it was really bad and since then he's just not been right, now he has a chest infection, poor old man, he's 14 and starting to feel his age.  By this time of year I've usually been to our caravan in Norfolk but with one thing and another we still haven't been.

May Showers

Well, the weather has certainly changed.  After a lovely April we now have a cold, northerly wind and heavy showers.  I wanted to get some more plants into the ground but it's just not suitable gardening weather for me.  What have I been doing instead {>(  - getting fed up hearing and reading about the upcoming election for one thing - now that is depressing!!!

I did get a swap finished

Yes, it's yet another project bag set.  The pincushion is the actual swap item but I couldn't resist making it up into a set.  This time I tried the strawberry shaped scissor fob but used the same fabric to make it and added cream felt 'leaves'.  Making this cheered me up a lot.  I love the fabric I used for this, it was one of those bargain lengths I got last time I visited The Fabric Guild in Leicester.

I also gathered together some of the items I'll need for the hutch/dresser challenge on the mini group I'm a member of

I spray painted the furniture cream and I'm making a wedding cake out of Sculpey.  The cake is terrible, mainly because I'm not very good with clay and also because I didn't have any white clay so I'm having to paint brown clay white, I have resorted to spray painting that too.  I think it will look ok for a first go so it will do.  I found a really good Youtube video on how to make a wedding cake but this was after I'd started mine, maybe I'll make another one following the video directions, that is after I buy the proper colour clay!