A few days R&R

Having finished my current workload after a very busy few weeks I haven't felt guilty about having a few days of just relaxing. Monday was spent with Heather visiting our mum and doing some general shopping for food supplies - mainly for my two terrors of course! We also called into the garden centre so I could pick up some grit and I also got a bulb planter and a new pair of gardening gloves. I have great difficulty finding small sizes and I can't work with them if the ends of the fingers are flapping about!

I thought I'd get into the garden later as it was such a nice day, but after a night of very little sleep, I sat down and, before I knew it I was dozing away until Tara woke me up to complain that it was time for dinner! Oh well, I must have needed it.

So, when Tuesday dawned and then turned into a gorgeously sunny day I was determined to make the most of it. What with the workload and the torrential rain the garden has got away from me again, so there was lots to do just to get back on track. My first job was to finish laying the weed suppressing fibre and get the rest of the bark chippings down. I secured the matting with a random mix of bent wire, large headed nails and screws and assorted washers - I'm sure it's not exactly how it's meant to be done, but I find my own way! I added a few more stepping stones as well.....which will please Tara and Thomas too as they do like to tippy toe along them.

Next was the nice job of putting my new bird table (a birthday gift from Joanne and her hubby) in position. I knew I'd need to secure that too, so I had bought some metal tent pegs for the job. I had to use the drill to make holes in the bird table legs, so that was fun! I've always been a bit intimidated by power tools, but must admit that I enjoyed this simple task. So, the bird table was then positioned and the tent pegs hammered through into the ground to make it wind and seagull proof - you wouldn't believe how much they shake my other bird table when they land! 

Last job in this area was to paint the top of the low wall with white paint. It looks very starkly bright now, but it will soon weather down a bit. Here's a picture of the patch as it looks now. I'm sure it won't take long for my avian friends to spy the new feeding station!

Next I had to do some weeding and the final job of the day was to put my bench out. Heather and I put it together a few weeks ago - it was an absolute bargain that cost less than £20! It's not the best quality bench in the world, but it has got wrought iron sides and it doesn't collapse when I sit on it! I had been going to put it on the lawn but someone advised against that, informing me that the grass underneath it would die and it would be a faff to mow around, so, after much moving it around the place I finally plumped for a nice spot and it has really made the garden look more homely straight away.  

It's at the side of the cherry tree and you can see David's rose which has flowered again now. The soil looks very bare as I've just weeded it all today but I've planted bulbs so there will, hopefully, be some lovely spring flowers to come.

Having the bench there has made that area seem more cosy and secluded and a little bit magical (I have a good imagination!). Can you spot my little fairies under the tree at the back? The hare has been in the garden for a long time and he looks just right by the bench. As the fern I planted has done well there, I think I'll plant some more as I think ferns have a bit of a fairyland look about them.

Anyway, after spending the whole day in the garden yesterday I was all set to do it again today but the weather wasn't quite so kind, in fact it was bloomin' freezing! I managed to do some weeding (the outdoor equivalent of dusting I think) and plant some bulbs. I've planted up some indoor Hyacinths and Tete a Tete too, so not too bad a day. Bbbbbrrr it was cold though!

Of course, all this means that I've no crafty goings on to share with you just now, especially as I can't show any of the designs I was working on of course. So, hope you don't mind seeing the garden progress instead.

Here's a rare picture of my two tearaways in the same photo - given that Tara hates Thomas it really doesn't happen much. This morning a very large United Utilities waggon parked outside the house whilst they did something or other to something or other in the road. Needless to say the two T's were not impressed and scurried over to their mum for safety! I love Tara's filthy looks!

 Well, that's more or less been my week so far. On Saturday I'll be at Weavervale garden centre in Winnington, near Northwich, so do pop by and say hello if you're in the area. I'll have my new Christmas stamps with me as well as some stencils and Tim Holtz dies and all my usual inky bits and pieces.

Heather has decided to redress our recent lack of theatre going so she's been booking tickets for us at the famous Grand in Blackpool. It's a magnificent, traditional theatre so it makes any production even more special. So far we have got tickets to see a ballet based on Dicken's Christmas Carol and a traditional evening of Carols. Looking forward to both of those and I haven't seen a ballet for years.

Okay, time to put the kettle on and let Thomas and Tara back in...they should come running as they know that there is still some cooked chicken in the fridge! 

Keep warm everyone.