Rain At Last

Firstly, a very warm welcome to Elaine, my new follower...hello  :)

A few days ago we harvested our potatoes from the trough we had used.  There were 2.5kg of lovely, smooth skinned, yummy potatoes.  They taste creamy and delicious and will last us a few weeks if we keep them cool, as we don't eat an enormous amount of potatoes in Summer.

In their place we have planted leeks (the compost has been totally removed, enriched and replaced)

The garden has suffered a bit with the total lack of rain.  These Hydrangeas were a beautiful purple but are now changing colour as our soil is pretty neutral.  We need to do something next year to bring the purple back...

Our GS gave us a couple of sunflower seeds and the flowers are doing quite well.  They obviously love the sunny weather.  This one is the smallest.  I'll let you know how tall they get.  What's the biggest you have grown?

Today is blessedly cool and we had some rain overnight.  It began around 9pm last night and, at one point during the night, it belted down.  Thank heavens.  Let's hope there's a little more to come as the river level at Bewdley is down to 22cm. 

Tomorrow I am going to a wildlife park with the family so you can bet your bottom dollar that we will have thunderstorms and torrential rain!  It never fails...lol...

I hope everyone who needs rain has had some too,

Take care x

Hot, hot, hot and Rain Song

It's almost 2 weeks since my last post and it's been incredibly hot ever since, so much so that my energy has evaporated like the moisture from the garden.  I still don't feel like eating properly as it's much too hot to cook and we don't really have an appetite for hot meals anyway.  G is getting really fed up with salad but he doesn't know what he fancies, so that's no help. 

Yesterday my GS had his leaving assembly from junior school and I went to the church service.  It was lovely but I felt a bit sad that he will be at Secondary school in September and we will no longer have small children with Nativity plays etc to weep over :/  Children grow so fast, don't they.  I still have a wee GD in Oz but I can't actually give her a real hug over the internet now can I.

Anyway, as I was driving home it began to spot with rain so when I arrived I got G to sing 'Danny Boy'.  His voice is totally off key and it did the trick, it rained gently for over 2 hours! ...lol... Perhaps I should rent him out? It was blissfully cool all evening with a gentle breeze blowing through the open windows and cooling us down.  By this morning it was more hot sunshine but now (4.30pm) the clouds have arrived and it's feeling a tad better.  I must admit that I HAVE HAD ENOUGH NOW! More rain please? The water butt is still only 1/4 full.

I have had a bit more success with my Stash to Cash challenge over the last week.  I cleared £15.30 at the craft fair and a neighbour has just paid me £4.50 for a couple of special cards, therefore the new total is

Stash to Cash total £110.92

I have some sales on fleabay but I will need to buy a few things in the next few days; more double sided tape, some gems and a couple of metres of thin ribbon for bows.  I'll use the fleabay money so won't count the money raised from that sale .

Hope you are all coping with the weird weather across the world.  Take care...

Thanks so much for popping in x

Talented Talon & Jobs on a Hot Day

It feels like another scorcher today (as it was yesterday) but yesterday evening I spent several hours in the blissful cool of an air conditioned theatre watching a wonderful acoustic band called Talon.  They are known for being an Eagles tribute band but their talents extend far beyond that.  I left on a high, especially after a hug from a member of the band! If you want to hear what I mean try www.talonmusic.co.uk/acoustic and click on the All Of Me video to hear Johnny Miller's version of the John Legend song.  I buy a ticket for the show every year and it's the highlight of my year.  I have to go on my own but I wouldn't miss it for the world :)  Do take a look, they might be playing near you....

This morning while it's a little cooler I need to crack on with a bit of housework.  It's been sadly neglected with the energy sapping weather we have been having, so it's:

• Change the bed linen and put it in the wash
• Mop the kitchen floor
• Clean the bathroom & en-suite
• Vacuum the lounge
• Breath.....  ;)
• Crafting! Yippee!
• Lunch
• More crafting ;)

I managed to get my car serviced at last as I put it off last year in order to save money. Because I do so few miles I thought it could wait.  This year I shopped around and, instead of going to the dealer at a cost of over £300, I went to a local chap who was VW trained.  He did the same kind of service for £133; at least £167 cheaper!  This meant that we could help DD out with the GC's school uniforms.  They are growing so fast they will need lots of new stuff for September.

May I offer a warm welcome to Cathy, my new follower …. hello!

I now have another £6.63 after fees to add to my challenge pot so total updated below.  I'm slowly getting there :)

How are you spending your day?  My Son, who lives in Australia, has been COLD.  It's only 20 degrees...Ooh that sounds good at the moment.  What's the temperature in your part of the world?

Stay safe and thanks so much for popping in x


Stash to Cash total £91.12

Relentless Heat & Home Produce

The relentless heat has continued all week, with nights so humid and hot that it has disrupted our sleep.  Last night, in particular, I was so restless that I just couldn't sleep, even with the windows open to let in the cool night air.  My joints ached, my back twinged and I was hot to the extent that I got up at midnight to sit in the cooler living room for a bit.  I went back to bed at 1.30am but slept fitfully. I know I should be grateful but excessive heat really doesn't suit me and my tummy feels bloated because my normal eating patterns have been disrupted :(  Pleeeease let us have a drop of rain soon.....

On a happier note, a very warm welcome to my new follower, Rosemary, I don't always moan I promise you! :)

Also on the plus side, we have been eating some absolutely gorgeous strawberries from our pots, a few tasty radishes too and our potatoes are almost ready to eat.  The flowers have gone over so they should be ready in about a weeks time, I think.  Apparently, potatoes stop growing if the temperature reaches 25 degrees, which it certainly has for about two weeks now, so they could be very small (but perfectly formed, I hope!)  I'll show you when we dig some up.

On the Stash to Cash challenge, after fees and postage there is £25.31 to add to my pot from selling my makes and I have some bids on items closing today on eBay.  I am going to persist with the monthly craft fair until the end of the year because I would like to make a total of  £120 for shhh… Christmas ...gifts and the next one is a week tomorrow. The current  total is below....

Enjoy your day folks and thanks everso for popping in x



Stash to Cash:  £84.49

What a Scorcher! and Blue Eggs

Oh boy, has this week been a scorcher. I remember Sir Terry Wogan saying that everyone complained it was too cold and we needed some sun, then as soon as it warmed up the cry was 'it's too hot for me!'  Well, Sir Terry, it is!  I simply cease to function at a reasonable level once the thermometer reaches above 22 degrees.  The only way I can survive is to close the blinds or curtains on the sunny side, open windows and doors on the cool side and stay indoors until early evening when we get a blissful breeze in the back garden and I can sit and read in comfort.  It's already too hot now at 11.30am and no sign of any letup.  I seem to be drinking gallons of ice cold water and eating fruit and salad almost exclusively.  We could really do with a gentle rainfall now as the grass has turned to straw.  Our strawberries, however, are lush :)

I'm finding sleep hard to come by too, what with the heat and OH's restless head next to me.  BTW I've decided to refer to OH by his initial G from now on.  It seems less impersonal and he deserves recognition after all he is coping with, I think.  How are you coping? Do you like the heat or loathe it?

Yesterday, I answered the door to find my lovely neighbour, J, holding a gift for us, some Blue Eggs! I have never seen any, much less eaten them so it was a lovely treat.  I hard boiled one to have with salad and it was delicious.  The taste was no different to a normal brown or white egg but the yolk was deep yellow and gorgeous.  I'll be having an egg and cress sandwich for lunch today as G is at work until teatime....

Anyone know what breed of chickens lays blue eggs please?

Oh, I want to give a big welcome to Veronica, my new follower...hello!

I have been having a measure of success in my Stash to Cash challenge by selling on fleabay this last week.  The challenge has been really tough going but I intend to stick it out for the rest of this year, not least because I am keeping the cash on one side for Christmas...sorry! I'll whisper the word... Christmas....


anyway, I'll carry on.  My stash is reducing in size (although my makes are growing) and during the week I had a sort out and gave a big box of oddments of card, pretty paper, embellishments and stickers etc to one of my neighbours for her Granddaughters to craft with.  She was looking after the youngest on Friday and needed something for her to do.  Like her older sister, the little one loves to craft and I'm all for encouraging the young to have a go.  My stash boxes are now lighter and tidier, and I found more stuff I had forgotten about...woohoo

I have items on fleabay which close today so I'll update my total tomorrow.

Have a wonderful day everyone and thanks so much for popping in x