Friday, March 09, 2007

Spending my Garden Vouchers

I charged up the dragonfly solar light and took a pick of it last night, it is so cool and still going this morning!!



Remember these



Well at long last I went and spent them!! It was the Garden Club members days at my very favourite Garden Centre and yes, of course, I'm a member! Remember I wanted one of these too...



well with the aid of this..



I was well on my way to getting one, well maybe not that exact one but a smaller version!!



I got this little lot for under £30 so I still have a £5 voucher left!!!!!!!!! I am well chuffed, just got to decide where to put it all!!!!!

My new wool arrived from the yarn yard yesterday, Tori is sooooooooooo excited. I must admit Natalie has excelled herself and as soon as I have finished my current knitting (a surprise pressie for a friend) I will get on with Tori's things.

Must dash, I'm off to collect Kathryn from Uni today, she has reading week and needs to bring her computer and 'dirty' washing home!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Plus I will get to see where she will be living next year, she has also found a couple of little cars for sale, which I will be taking a look at, Tori starts to learn to drive in September and to be honest we can't afford to insure her on either of the cars we have, their engines are too big, so we need a little car. What we have to decide is do we run 3 cars or sell the estate car and have just 2 little cars (are other car is a Peugout 306)! I think we may struggle with 2 small size cars, we will have to see!!

I must admit I am not getting round to visit everyones blog as often, now I am playing in the garden. I really want to get rid of the 'black dog' so I am making a massive effort. So please forgive me if I don't pop in as often, I can promise you I have not forgotten you and when I do visit I do read all the posts I've missed!

Thursday, March 08, 2007

Lambs & Land!

Another sunny day, I could get used to this!
So I took the opportunity to go out for a walk and find some more pics for my photo a day blog. I had a place in mind, but when I got there I was in for a shock! What I saw really saddened me! To see what upset me check my photo a day blog tomorrow!!

Often over the winter spring period the local farmer arranges for sheep to come in and graze the fields. When I opened my curtains this morning I was in for a shock, so to make sure I had seen what I had seen, I popped on my wellies and went for a walk and look





I have never in the 19 years we have lived here seen lambs in this field, how exciting!!!!! Must be spring!!!!

Then on the way back I took a photo of my neighbours garden from the bottom looking back up the gardens, why?



because it should be mine, look thats my dormer window you can see. When we bought our house unbeknown to us this was our property, but whilst we where buying, the owner was selling this plot to the neighbours!!!

Reminds me of a song.....'woho, it should have been mine!'

Wednesday, March 07, 2007

Student accommodation and more gardening!

I have been a good girl today took Tori to school, went to see my friend Hayley and her very intelligent 2 year old Megan had a lovely time there. On the way back I called in at the tip to leave my green waste, cardboard and plastic. Went to the paper shop to get a paper for my neighbours elderly father who is house sitting for them. Then phoned my other friend (the one with MS)and arranged to take her out to a garden centre!
I then got a call from Kathryn who is very excited because they have found a house!!! No she is not buying it! The first year at Uni you usually stay in halls. The second and third year you have to find rented accommodation.
Initially Kathryn and her friend Annie where going to share an eight bedded house with 4 lads, they had agreed to find another 2 girls so it would be 4 and 4 as there where 2 bathrooms they could have had a girls & a boys. I was happy with this because it ment someone would always be around as K's particular friend often goes home at the weekend and she is worse than me, in being scared of the dark!! She leaves a lava lamp on in her bedroom all night!
Anyway to cut a long story short the girls won't be joining the lads and went off house hunting themselves and are thrilled because they have found a house not far from the Uni, it is four bedded and has everything they wanted and only £60 per week including bills!!! The only thing they have to pay for is insurance, TV licence and broadband! They have found 2 more girls, one who also goes home on a regular basis and the other one doesn't. So I'm releaved K, won't be on her own too often!! Oh! yes and the other great thing is the landlord has agreed to let them move there stuff in for the summer (end May to September) and it will only cost them about £150 each. So when we have to move her home from Uni at the end of May, she can move her stuff straight into the house instead!! Thank goodness for that, I was dreading the clutter!!!

I've been down the garden again, when we moved the chickens we dug up some shrubs, well I have found a new home for them




I had some pyracantha here but they weren't right and they where lethal with there sharp thorns, so I dug them out and have planted in there place an escalonia, weigeila and lilac!

When ever I spend time in the garden I always have company



and they always find somewhere comfy to lie!! Tango is ontop of the Gunnera, I had a look at this the other day and because it is so mild it has started to sprout! So I think I may have to uncover it during the day and maybe pop some fleece over it at night!

Info: especially for Vallen, Corn Salad or Lambs Lettuce click to find out more info!!!

Tuesday, March 06, 2007

Greenhouse, Garden and pressies!

My goodness what a night! Wind and rain kept waking me up!! We have a small amount of damage down the garden



the arch fell down, well in fact it broke, which bearing in mind its age is to be expected!! So I will have to get another!! The chickens run looks a bit yuk but it is still a work in progress,



they seem happy enough...



Bunty wants to know why I'm poking a silver box through the netting and not some corn whilst Bree is charging off in the opposite direction saying 'eek a human!!'



Big Bird says 'I have got my good eye on you!' (shes blind in the other). I do wish I could do some recording of the noises Big Bird makes, they are so funny and often bring a smile to my face, so I'm sure it would make you laugh to!!!

It is such a glorious day today, that I decided to get out and about in the garden. First I trotted off into the greenhouse, with all the seedlings from my windowsill which I need to prick out.



Now I've done that this lot will go back inside the house, they are the chillis, peppers which do not like the cold and some of the tomatoes!



and this lot will stay in the greenhouse with a propagator lid on. Mainly tomatoes but I have included a chilli and pepper to see how they fair compared to the ones in the house!!!


I was going to plant some peas in gutters ready for planting out a bit later, but the way the onions are growing I think I had better wait a bit!!



I think next year I shall wait a month longer!! I've also planted some salad bowl lettuce (the pick and come again kind), corn salad, slalad rocket and spring onions, I've never tried them this early in the greenhouse before, but thats what I have one for!!!!!!

Right now I can't fit another thing in the greenhouse, I'm outside now look at the frogspawn, some have little legs...



I then did some bits and bobs around the garden, found a load more ladybirds! This is a solar panel dragonfly that I got at good old wilkinsons, I've popped it here for my sister to look at cos I thought a few of these would be a good pressie for my mum for her birthday, they come in butterflies, these and ball shaped!











Then I came in and found a nice surprise, 1 letter and 1 parcel, both for me so I opened the letter




Inside I found a match book of wild flower seeds and some Strawberry Spinach seeds which Ruth and I saw on Scarecrows site and both thought it looked interesting. Unbeknown to me Ruth ordered the seeds and has very kindly sent me some. Thank you very much Ruth, its amazing how we have never met but we seem to have found a link through 'blogging' I appreciate your friendship! xxx

Then in the parcel




from Mrs Nesbitt, was lots and lots of beads, and some bulbs and some rose petals, rosebuds. But they must have had a rough journey because when I opened the box and took out the bags there where beads rolling everywhere as the bags had opened.

This was for being the nearest to 15000 and leaving a comment on her blog! I will be sending her an e-mail!

Blog has been a total pain this afternoon, it has taken me ages to do this post becuase the pics don't like being uploaded, anyway we got there in the end!!

Monday, March 05, 2007

BBC Wiltshire

Well what have you been up to today?? I was here this morning!


BBC Wiltshire Radio, talking about 'blogs'! This is the phone in bit, with Annie the producer on the far phone and Nikki who contacted me closest to us!



Here we are in the studio me with Graham the presenter,



Here is Graham showing off all his equipment!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



I was only on for 5 minutes and I could have nattered on for ages about blogs, you know what I'm like! But I hope we got the message across, that anyone can do it and after some time you meet like minded people and become friends there is no restriction on how far away they live either!!!

Please make an orderly queue, I will be signing autographs later!! LOL!!!!!!

Fame! Well maybe not!!

I shall be on here at around 11.45ish!! Click the link to listen!
If they let me I shall take photos and let you know how it all went when I get back!!

Sunday, March 04, 2007

Tori & Mrs Nesbitt!

Tori had a bit of a day yesterday!! I must admit she has really turned her course work around. Over half term she worked sooooooo! hard and finished off about 5 pieces!! So all thats left is Science, some more Drama, given to her Friday!and Art work!! When we went out yesterday to get some photographs for her Art course work we got chatting and a big concern for her at the moment is the amount of coursework still to do and the fact that she doesn't really have any studying time!!! To cap it all, and I am furious about this is, 2 of her Art projects have been lost!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Which, if they truely are lost at school, means she has to do both projects again and have them finished by 1st April!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Her first exam is 22nd May and the history teacher told her she has to do at least 30 hours of study, she is taking 9 GCSE's so if they all need 30 hrs thats 270 hours! I have no idea how she will fit that in. I know for a fact that one of the weekends between now and then we are going to a friends wedding, I also haven't seen my mother or sister since December.

No pics today, sorry, nothing to take pics of!! Had a lovely chat with Mrs N, hee! hee! I know what she's been up to and you don't!!!