Trick or Treat!

Living where we live my girls have never been trick or treating and have never had any trick or treaters knocking at the door.
T went up to Worcester to K's Halloween party at the weekend, they got back yesterday with a camera full of pictures and some lovely stories of people trick or treating. It appears that the calling trick or treaters and parents where impressed with the girls Halloween outfits!!



We have a Gothic witch, daughter number 2, a cat, daughter number 1 and a suicidal Alice, adopted daughter number 3, the lovely S who shares the house with K!



Striking a pose!



Cough! cough!



A Sassy cat!

T came back having had a marvelous time, I know K enjoyed having her. I am extremely lucky having two daughters who get on so well!!

I Love My Girls!

What do you do, when you don't know what to do??

You phone Mum!!!!!

I have some amazing phonecalls with my girls.......

From K

Ring, ring, ring, ring
M: Hello
K: What do you do when the toilet won't flush away mum??
M: Call a plumber!!!!

From T, a while ago

Ring, ring, ring, ring
M: Hello
T: I got on the wrong bus, I'm lost
M: Do you not know where you are?
T: No
M: Well how can I find you?

Its nice to be needed!

By the way I forgot to mention Tori is fine and has an appointment to see a specialist in December!

Never too Old!

To have a paddling pool!



fill it with water



get in and think mmmmmmmmm! bit cold!



after awhile its actually quite cool



obviously a bit too cool for 'T'!



Oh look K is out warming up and T is in??? But the pool looks fuller??



My girls aren't so soft, as the hose heated up it warmed the water inside it so they topped up the pool with the Hot, yes hot water from the hose!



Sassy thought it a bit hot too but likes to be close to the girls!



The chickens have been moved again, but they found it hot as well so took themselves to bed early!



When ever we go to see to the chickens, Tango always walks with us.

Exotic or Cottage????

We, and I do me 'we' have been extremely busy in the garden the last few days. We being K and I. She doing most of the digging and lifting and me poking my nose in and getting into trouble! I consider myself very lucky to have a daughter who enjoys gardening as much as I do.
Here she is jetwashing the patio.............



The weather has been glorious and at times a little too hot



This is my weather station, great little gadget. and of course being a 'Brit' we have this thing about 'weather'!!!!
The sensor is on the painted strip to the left of the gate near the top of the wall and as you can see in shade! But I do think with the patio being south facing it will get some reflective heat from the slabs but it still creates a great talking point! Sad or what!!!!



This was my bargain buy from Lidl and cost me £9.99. Best £9.99 I've spent in a long time. I hope they get them back again as I want to get one for my mum!

Now look at this little chap



never seen anything like him before, so had to get my insect book out and if I am correct in my identification he is a Black & Red Froghopper, apparently seen in early summer clinging to lush grass (not so sure its lush) and low vegetation, especially in Southern England (thats here!)

Now for a troll round looking across the now jet washed patio,



all the bags at the end are for the tip, I've still to set up the compost bins since the re-arrangement at the bottom of the garden!



This rose and honeysuckle are in my neighbours garden, but as you can see overhang and their scent is magnificent. This is what I really miss, from an exotic garden, honeysuckle and roses, it makes me yearn for a good old cottage garden. Although theres alot of work in keeping a cottage garden up to scratch, theres not so much lugging around of plants as there is in an Exotic Garden.



K has been working down here for me, planting and digging out, and we have been repotting together, its quite a pleasant area to work until about 12 o'clock.



These are Silver Birch Trees and are supposed to have a 'light canopy', don't you believe it, when they are planted so close together it is very dense hence being able to work in a South facing garden till mid-day!

My first Brug flower,



some of the plants are looking ok but I still have them split up as a precaution.

Tomato plants, coming along



they seem alot happier in this greenhouse, I have noticed with it being bigger the temps are more constant and theres not so many extremes of hot and cold!

My Brug cuttings



really ready for Ebay, but I want to be sure there is no virus first!

Some flowers on the way back up the garden at 7am this morning.





when I see these I often wonder what made me like tropical? I love the flowers, the amazing natural colours, why would I swop these for tropicals?

Looking back across the patio!



Right off for brekkie now!

Day 12

Our 2nd morning of frost, yes its cold but give me a crisp frost, blue skies and that bright sun any day to rain!!!!

Bit behind on the advent calander



the first camel!!!!

I have been knitting, well playing actually, tackling a stitch I haven't done before and I am pleased with the result



What is it? You mean you can't tell! Hrmph!!!!! Just a practise really but I'm pleased with how it looks, I just need to practise knitting a bit more evenly! Although theres alot of picking up of stitches which could explain its wigglyness!

I'm also knitting something for my sister, no its not for Christmas, they are all wrapped up and ready, this is just something extra, cos I love her!!



Yes it is on four needles and no the bead is not included its a stitch marker!!! I shall be taking these with me when I go and visit my mum!

The car insurance company have decided to deal with our claim, as a claim, at our request, as the car is still drivable. They will not 'write it off' instead they will send us a cheque to get the car repaired ourselves or spend the money as we want! Well we shall repair the car, it is booked in for the 14th January. In the meantime it is OK to drive. Which means I can drive up and get K from Worcester on Friday, she will then drive me up to mums, where we will spend the weekend, then come back via Worcester as K has to pick up some stuff and hopefully be back either Sunday or Monday!

Today I shall be pottering round the greenhouses, I have had quite a lot of leaves drop off the Brugmansias and I want to clear them all up, give everything a little water, check all heaters etc etc.

Camping Chaos

My lounge!!!!!!!


and this is only part of it!! K and her friends are off to Newquay, on Friday, camping. So I have been scrabbling round the loft and shed collecting all the bits and pieces!!

My feet don't seem to have touched the floor these last few days! Haven't really done anything in the garden except water, but now its raining I don't really need to do that!!!

Back later!

Some Assemblance of Order Returns or Maybe Not!!

Well K & L are now back at Uni! T has done loads and loads of course work but not alot of studying as there was too much coursework to do to fit that in! Hubby is taking her to the cinema, as a treat, to see one of those films like 'House of Flying Daggers' with the Japenese actors in flying around and fighting (not my cup of tea). I shall be here playing!!

Quite a while back I made a bid on Ebay for a Paulownia tomentosa (Foxglove Tree)and won!! It was in Worcester and I had asked if I could pick it up, well yesterday I went and got it and was totally blown away by their garden................. full of jungle plants, bamboos, bird of paradise in flower, tracycarpus, tree ferns and loads more, I only wish I had taken my camera but I had no idea!! It has so inspired me, we have alot of similar plants but theirs are planted in the garden, I think I have been too protective of mine.
So once the veg are underway and whilst I am still sorting the bottom out,I am going to redo the jungle area (patio).
Anyway this is what I paid 99p for



its grown quite a bit since I bid for it but look what they gave me.......



3 foxglove plants, 2 palms and a papaya plant all home grown. Totally stunned I am, it was so lovely to meet people who had a passion for jungle plants like me, although they definately had more knowledge!

It has been so hot, and as you know I don't do heat, apart from the fact since, my upset tum earlier in the week I have been feeling decidedly odd!! Anyway totally and utterley inspired by my jungle plant friend I have been re-organising the patio to incorperate the load of jungle plants I have bought off Ebay!!!!!!! (Shhhhhhhh!)




Can you see what I'm planning????? No? Good! Then it will be a surprise to both of us!!!lol!!!
Anyway, Plan A finish the bottom of the garden, Plan B get planting veggies, Plan C lift some of patio slabs, plant tropical plants and move around etc, Plan D I can't say cos its a secret and it has nothing to do with the garden! Plan E, finish planting round the pond, Plan F, do something with the lawn! Plan G, go and see the neighbours as he has loads of timber he plans to burn that would do for edging the beds!!!!! Plan H, lay slabs around greenhouse that I took up from patio, Plan I, maybe I should get a gardener and not be so ambitious! Plan J, set the alarm really early so I can get some of this work done before it gets too hot!!!!!!!! I'm off for a lie down to gather strength!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

No Rest for the Wicked!!!

So I must be very wicked!!!!!! lol!!!!

Well I felt loads better yesterday and as I had been ill on the day I had promised to take the girls shopping for their wedding outfits, we went yesterday!!! Have you looked in the shops recently? My goodness just try and find an outfit for a teenager for a wedding!!! Nigh on impossible! Its all bright, 60's, Mary Quant, type styles (not that I remember of course!!) or very casual. Nothing smart, so it took us forever, but we where successful eventually. The girls won't let me post pics but K has a dress that will be fine for her summer ball as well and T is not wearing black!! but we still have to find shoes for her and she wants some opera length gloves to wear, which could be a challenge, bearing in mind the colour she is wearing so I think we will try good old Ebay!!!!
T has a drama exam coming up and she has to dress in a hippy type style, which fortunately was easy to accommodate bearing in mind the current styles and K found a top she really liked but what was really confusing is K chose black and T wore a colour and both liked there outfits so much, they where wearing them round the house which was very confusing for me because I kept calling K, T and T, K because they where wearing the wrong colours!!! I think I need a lie down!!!





They are so much fun to go shopping with and T is getting slightly adventurous, trying on clothes she would not normally look at, here she is in her hippy gear....



She asked me to buy a belt for her, I thought it was for her jeans, so was totally bowled over when she appeared wearing this....



Definately different for T who usually hides under big and baggy!!!!

I hope to spend today in the garden, which is coming along really well, I must remember to take the camera out with me!
Lee (K's boyfriend) is here and the car is now fixed so we probably won't see much of K over the next few days.
After our 'fashion show' of our wedding outfits hubby says I need a hat!!!!!!!!!!!
Gulp! so we are off hat shopping on Friday!!! Although I should probably go today as my hands are lovely and clean!!!!!!
I promise to post something about the garden tomorrow for the gardening buffs!! When the girls are off I'm always erratic about posting so normal service should be resumed next week!!!!!!

No Rest for the Wicked!!

I have taken the advantage of having Kathryn home from Uni especially as she currently has no car to 'escape' in!!!!

So the sun was out, I was togged up for the garden and out she comes, wearing not alot but suncream!!!!! No I didn't get a photo!!! Anyway we set too and she is helping me prepare for my sisters visit on Saturday!! So out came all the wooden garden furniture from the shed, which she painted with linseed oil. Then the patio was tidied and brushed. Meantime I was sat back in a chair drinking gin & tonic!!! I lie!!!! I finished off the fence at the bottom, and planted the 2 clematis, tidied up the clutter that had accumulated around the so called lawn. Now the furniture was out of the shed I could actually get in it so gave it a quick tidy up.

Then yesterday evening we had our first bar-b-que of the year, which I must say was very scrummy!!

When you type it out it doesn't seem much but it took us all afternoon to do!!!!

Today I have to go shopping for food, then back out in the garden, but this time I will have 2 helpers, ha, ha! So hopefully should get the path finished!! I promise to take pics too!

Trauma!

Sorry for not posting yesterday, it has been a bit traumatic here since Friday!! I feel very sorry for Kathryn, who on Thursday, as you know signed the contract with her 3 bestfriends for the house they will live in next year! They all very excitedly then went out for a celebration meal, planning the things they would do, take etc. etc.

Friday I went to get her and her 'dirty washing'!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We had been home exactly 20 minutes when she got a call from S to say, A was pulling out and had phoned the landlord to tell him!! The reason being she couldn't afford it!! This has massive implications as the contract says if one defaults they are all liable! So K, taking Tori with her for company drove back up to Worcester that evening to talk it through with everyone.

They returned early Saturday with the situation unresolved and K in tears. I think she is more upset that A didn't talk to her of her worries as she considers A her bestest bestest friend!

All through her life Kathryn has had some amazing 'best' friends. Every single one of them without fail has a) seriously let her down. b) gone behind her back, c)something else serious to end the relationship beyond repair! I thought it was only a phase!

Anyway before you start thinking well if A has money issues we should bear this in mind, she is taking 3 holidays this year one of which is to a Greek Island! By the time K got up to Uni, because the holiday's had been pointed out to her, had changed her mind on why she couldn't join them in the house. All the girls knew about A's financial situation and had been checking with her all the time they looked for a house that 'are you sure', 'is this cheap enough' etc.

Options available to them now, find someone to fill A's space! The problem here is they are renting a terraced house and none of the bedroom doors have locks on them, so they will be inviting a stranger into their house and have no way of securing their valuables. The landlord is currently unhappy to fit locks on these doors as they are firedoors!

They do know a girl who all four had decided was a serious no, no becuase she has such awful 'paddies'. This girl was due to share with 2 other groups but these other groups went off and signed a contract without her, I think that says it all! But sadly looks like it maybe the only option, unless the landlord lets them off the contract! (Unlikley)

I will keep you posted.

I did do gardening yesterday, but forgot to take pics. I will be more organised today! But I did get a lovely photo of the sky at dusk! The rest are on my sky blog!

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!

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!

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