Another beautiful day ...

... weatherwise.  It can't last much longer - or can it?  I'd planned to do some of the dreaded 'h' word today while Paul was at his pre-op assessment but he sat out front of house waiting for the transport to arrive and I went out to keep him company for a while.  The 'while' ended up being a weeding and tidy up session in the garden but instead of me commenting on how it 'needs doing' every time I go out there, it's now done!

Trimmed the lilac and brought some indoors.  Hard to believe that this bush was cut back to the ground just 4 to 5 years ago.  Seems to have done it the power of good.

Transport arrived, I finished the tidy up and then decided to bake some chocolate chip cookies.  Cheated though :0)  Last shopping order had a couple of packet mixes in and one was .... chocolate chip cookies. Haven't used a packet mix in years (mind you, until very recently I've not baked in years *grin*).  Probably not much quicker than doing them from scratch and certainly no cheaper but I was curious.  They made a lovely dessert with some vanilla ice cream this evening .....

Suitcases are out of the top of the wardrobe but dimensions for hand luggage are smaller than last year (different airline) and mine's too big :0(  I put it right with the purchase of another, smaller, overnight/weekend case with dimensions that Ryanair accepts so reckon every other airline out there will have no problems - *lol*  Now I need to sort out what I'm taking to Bali and start my packing.  I want it done by Tuesday evening, all bar the last minute bits :0)

Now ..... I'm gonna show you what we did in Jane's FPC class last Friday.  Was it Friday?  Time passes so quickly nowadays and it goes quicker the older I get.  I do have some very morbid thoughts sometimes.  Can't help it but they creep in.  I've become very aware of my own mortality.  It started when I reached 50 but has got worse as I've gone more years past that.  Mostly I don't think about it but just sometimes those thoughts creep in, especially recently and I can only put that down to losing our friend Barbara so suddenly and at such a comparatively young age.  Anyway, morbid thoughts to one side and back on track with post!

Friday, yep, checked calendar and it was Friday, spent the day at the Glitterpot in the company of some lovely ladies and Jane Gill making poppies and a form of clematis (I thought Montana variety but what do I know?)  The poppy came from Leone Em's latest book.  I swear that lady likes to find theeee most difficult way of doing things - *lol*! Anyway, I love the flower but there's something not quite right about it as a poppy to my mind.  I think that the 2 back petals should be much larger and practically meet one another and the 2 slightly smaller ones lay on top.  I kept trying to pull the petals together more but they wouldn't go and, since having it home I've Googled poppies and the pics I've found seem to bear that out.  If I ever make the flower again I may well play with the 'design'.  Whatever, I still like what we did and the finished card ....

Clematis

All the flowers started as white 80gsm copy paper and then coloured.  The poppies were coloured with diluted acrylic paint and the clematis? Well, would you believe it, I can't remember! Yet another senior moment. I remember an ink pad and a toning pen for the stamens but can't remember how we coloured the petals but guess the ink pad was involved somewhere along the line else why have it? Poppies took all morning to make and half the afternoon to put card together. Clematis took no time hence didn't quite gel in the memory but you get the idea.  If you don't like to colour you could always use a coloured paper ... for both the flowers - *lol*!

Update:  I've remembered!  We used a dauber and dabbed the colour on. Sheesh!  P'raps I'm not so daft after all *LOL*

Thanks for dropping by .....

Must be feeling ...

   ... better, or at least improved, 'cos I'm up for doing things ... including updating blog. Need to continue work on my holiday slideshow stuff but priority is sorting my craft bits which came to a halt when I became ill. I'd been making big advances on that as well. That's big compared with what I had been doing - *LOL* Have to say it's not all my craft bits as it's not my 'craft room' I'm working on but a corner of the study as a temporary crafty base. I spent some time working on it on Saturday and I think, what I'd planned on doing, is nearly done. Once done I need to pack up living room as we want to have it decorated this year.

 

I used to do the decorating but health won't allow me to now so Philip, eldest son, was in line for doing it as he was out of work. He'd given up the job he'd had for 15 years when he moved away as it wasn't cost effective to keep up the travelling on what he earnt. Anyway, my recent illness sort of put an end to that idea ... perhaps ... as he's found himself another job and starts it when I come back from my break in Spain. I don't have time now, to prepare before I go, so may have to pay a stranger to do it. Discussion with son needed because, as his job is only part-time, he may be able to fit it in ...before he starts at college in September on a mechanics course, which will take up the remainder of his spare time. He's pretty much a mechanic anyway but he's self taught so nobody will take him on without official qualification.  Hence going to college - to get qualified! They've allowed him to skip a level.  He was hoping to skip 2 and just do the final level but they won't go along with that.  He's got to do all but the most basic one. Tutor has told him he'll probably be teaching him to suck eggs but it's a necessary evil to get the qualification. He's been advised to just sit, glaze over and 'go with the flow' *grin*

  

Anyway, now's an ideal time to update blog.   Nowt on TV except boring football (soccer) for a month! World Cup in South Africa so every other TV programme is a football match! Fine if you like footie but not everybody in the UK likes it and those of us that don't aren't really catered for at all with programming. If it's not footie it's F1 (which I don't mind) and of course, round the corner ..... Wimbledon. I used to love watching that but even that has become boring. Showing my age but, give me the 'characters' of years ago. McEnroe, Connors, Nastase etc etc. The era of the player that could play all court tennis and relied more on skill and speed around the court than power but also showed their passion, and frustrations *lol*,  for the game .... and the women didn't feel the need to make those horrendous noises every time they hit the ball! Anyways ...

More catch up ...
On the Wednesday following the weekend of the Deans Festival and the craft show in Worthing, I had a day crafty playing with Greta and Kim, with Greta being the hostess. We made a couple of cards, stamped a few images, had a lovely lunch which included some of Greta's wonderful homemade soup and generally had a lovely day.  Details of makings will, eventually, make it onto the Bits blog! *LOL*

Unfortunately, just that following weekend I started to feel ill and that was the start of what ended up being diagnosed as pleurisy!

The weather had been generally good. It was certainly good enough to give my lilac bush one of it's best shows of bloom I've ever had, especially since it was cut right back to the ground just about 4 years ago.  Now there's not a bloom left on it - well, not like this 'cos they're now all brown and going to seed!

Thanks for dropping by .....
 

It's been an age ...

..well, over 2 weeks but I'm not in hibernation! I've been busy and not felt like blogging when I've had time to relax. Even 'Bits' went by the board for a while but have caught up with that at last *phew!*  Today is a bonus day as what I'd planned hasn't happened.  We had snow overnight and early this morning and, although the main roads were passable this morning (with care) our road wasn't and I couldn't get the car out.  In fact, I didn't even try to move it when I saw the conditions.  Very, very pretty (well, it was when it was all virgin snow) but wish it had waited until next week.  Don't think we'll be having a white Christmas as it's arrived too early.  It'll probably all be gone by this time next week!

Unfortunately the weather has meant that hubby hasn't gone to hospital to have the op on his hand.  I feel so, so sorry for him.  He is in excruciating pain with it and was looking forward to going to get it sorted out.  Now he's going to have to wait until they get another space, which is unlikely to be this side of Christmas :o(  He's considered priority because of being a wheelie and needing his hands for his mobility.  He's actually housebound and has been for some while now and all because he can't transfer from his chair to a car any more as the pain is so great.

I've plenty of 'catch up' to do, including the imag-e-nation SE Christmas meet - with piccies (still got to sort them *doh!*) - but reckon I need to consult the calendar to remind me of what's happened and what I've been doing.

In meantime I've updated my profile photo - taken today, by me, with camera at arms length! First time I've tried that - OK, so I'm waaaaayyyyyyyy behind on that one *lol* - but it seems to have worked OK. I just snapped until I got one I was reasonably happy with. Never totally happy with pics of me now and usually go out of my way to avoid having them taken, 'cos I don't recognise the person that I see. It's not the person I see in my head, which is about 30 years younger and half the size *hehe!*


Thanks for dropping by .....

I was hoping ...

... that I'd have a lot of photo's to post tonight. My balloon flight had been rebooked from the no-go last week and it was due today. Not bad weather overall but - it was too windy! Didn't even leave the house today - well, not for the flight anyway. Oh well, here's to the next time but for now here's a photo of my hibiscus shrub in the front garden. A couple of years ago it was chopped right down to the ground ...

Had a phone call from Dad's morning carer on Monday morning. He ran out of pain relief over the weekend. Seemed odd to me 'cos he'd had his normal monthly prescription and that usually lasts. Then a light went on! Dad used to self-medicate and he took the pain relief as he needed, which wasn't all the time, so they lasted him. Since the carers have started medicating him they have been doing so by the med label which states 1 or 2 a time, up to 4 times a day. They'd been giving him 2, 4 times daily without checking whether he actually needed them - because there's nothing on the label relating to a 'need' basis. Anyway, called on Dad yesterday and took some paracetamol with me to tide him over until I could talk to his doc. Asked him if he wanted a couple of the pills, thinking he'd need them if he'd had no pain relief since Saturday and he said he'd have them to 'be on the safe side'. Further conversation told me he didn't need them and that he'd not actually had any pain. Seems, because he's no longer moving around as he used to, his pain isn't as great. In fact, it seems pretty non-existant, which means he really doesn't need the heavy duties with all the added side effects! I have to say I thought he was a lot brighter than of late and he seemed more aware and little more 'with it'. Today I managed to speak to his doc and she's changing his script to lighter pain relief, to be given only when needed and, she says that we might see a bit of a difference in him. Not only do the heavy duties cause constipation and the probs that go along with that but they can cause, or increase, confusion! After seeing him so much more alert yesterday perhaps there's something in what she said.

We had an appointment with somebody from the local Day Centre with a view to him going once a week or so. Trouble is, they didn't turn up. Seems they thought he wasn't interested. Don't know how they got that idea because nobody has spoken to them, as far as I know, since they made the appointment. It's rescheduled now for next week. He's said he'd give it a try so I hope he doesn't change his mind after the meeting. It will give him something to look forward to each week. Different things to do and people to talk to. We'll find out more when we have the meeting ...

Photo of Dad taken on camera phone last week, so not a good photo but then he wasn't looking good either! He's lost so much weight (although they tell me he's eating well and he says he's not hungry) that his glasses fall off when he nods off - bless! He looked better this week :O))

Thanks for dropping by .....

Busy day ...

... and I'm aching like mad. Don't know what to do with my leg or back at the moment and it's still not finished 'cos we're waiting for a grocery delivery. Can't say as I'm that keen about doing the grocery shop online but it's come in very useful over the past few months with my limited mobility. I've done a couple of 'top-up' shops during that period and I've really suffered afterwards. Reckon not going to the store does save money though - but it's not the same as going and picking your own fruit and veg and checking out the 'use by' dates yourself. Meals also tend to get a bit samey when you don't actually walk the aisles - LOL!

Today has been a laundry day. Put first load of washing on and decided it was about time I caught up with some ironing. Spent 5 hours ironing, with a couple of breaks. Watched some stuff I'd got recorded from Create & Craft while doing it so that was a bonus. Still not finished - ironing that is, although I am - but will pick it up again next week. I really must do what I keep intending to do and actually do the ironing following each wash. Would only take ½ an hour instead of several hours where it's built up over months. Obviously have too many clothes - *LOL*!

Weather today has been beautiful. Warm, sunny and not a breath of wind. The ideal balloon flying weather. Only problem is the weather forecast for tomorrow. I've been hoping that the weather today was set to continue but .... we've now been issued with a severe weather warning for this area, with heavy, thundery rain forecast to arrive around 4pm. Time of the balloon flight meet? 5:30pm! Reckon it'll be a no-go ... again. I just hope I get this flight before my hip finally decides there is no way it will happen. Still, forecasts have been wrong before - it should have tipped it down today and it has been the exact opposite so hopefully it will be wrong tomorrow. Balloon company has to decide by 2:30pm whether the flight will go ahead or not .....

We've got some lovely green tomatoes growing though ............... *hehe*! We've also had some more beautiful waterlilies on the pond. We're only getting one at a time and each one is different but they're all beautiful. Hopefully there will be more next year and, with the plants better established I'm hoping that we'll get more than one lily at the same time - *LOL*


Thanks for dropping by .....

I've been hanging ...

... over the fence taking pics of my neighbour's flowers again! They really must think I've lost the plot but guess they wouldn't be far wrong. I'm having the michael extracted by my own family over my obsession with my camera of late and that's without them having a clue as to what I've got going on in my mind - *LOL* Anyway, thought I'd post a few of the pics here for 'posterity', so to speak. Might try to do something with them for crafting purposes .........

There was another colour other than red but still no doubles - *lol*




This time neighbour didn't pop out and I managed to get the bee. It had collected a lot of pollen by the look of the sacs on it's legs!

Had a lovely evening last night. Went to see the eldest littlie, Emma, in her dance school show. She wasn't on stage for long but she looked soooo sweet and her dancing has improved a lot since the winter show before Christmas. Unfortunately it seemed to be a show dominated by around 8 to 10 youngsters with others just getting a fleeting couple of minutes - if that. Gave the impression that the school was only about those pupils and the rest got a token appearance. Not good for the morale as a whole 'cos I can see them losing a lot if they don't spread it out more fairly. Having said that - the show was pretty good. It was called Legends and there was a section dedicated to the music of Michael Jackson, starting with ABC and taking it through to his later stuff. All the tinies (3 to 5 years old) came on stage for the ABC number - led on by older pupils and they were supposed to perform but most stood looking for their parents in the audience, as little ones do. The 'aaahhhh' factor!

If only they'd known what was going to happen when they started putting the show together. It became a fitting tribute from young performers to a Master Showman!


Thanks for dropping by .....

Phew!! ...

... it's been soooooo hot this week! Yesterday hubby went to car and thermometer was showing 39c! OK, it probably wasn't but have to say that it wasn't far off - definitely over 30c and the hottest day by far this year. It's been a nightmare sleeping, let alone doing anything. I can no longer take the heat like I used to as a youngster so I stay out of it as much as possible but have to say I enjoy sitting outside, in the relative coolness of an evening with a good book and sometimes a glass of grape juice, although not this week! The only thing I've been disappointed about is that it's been ideal balloon flying weather and it has been the weather of my dreams for my flight and .... I still can't do it yet 'cos of my darned leg!
The everlasting sunshine, since last week, has caused a problem with the fish pond in that it has now developed 'green water'. Our back garden is completely south facing and there is no shade. Pond is on patio for practical purposes (electrics for pump and filter) and logistics don't allow for us to shade it with planting so looks as though we're gonna have to put up with it - although there is a plan in the offing *hehe* We've done everything recommended by the local aquatic centre but have now decided that, as the fish don't mind, we're going to leave it to sort itself out. It will clear eventually ..... in the meantime an old garden umbrella was bought into play yesterday. Didn't shade the pond completely but better than nowt - *lol*

On Wednesday I noticed the waterlily had a bud coming to the surface. Yesterday it broke the surface and early this morning it was in tight bud. By 9am it had opened and it is beautiful. I had no idea what colour it was going to be as I never planted it but it's the most gorgeous colour pink and here it is at various stages through it's day. It's fast asleep now *LOL*

It's been so hot that we've had thunderflies bothering us - or, to be technically correct .... my lappy's had thunderflies bothering it. Somehow there's been a few that have found their way into - yes that's into - my screen .... under the glass! Started with one crawling around that decided to die and now it's body is stuck. Then another joined it so I've got 2 dead thunderfly bodies staring at me from the screen. It got a bit much when I had 2 dead bodies and 3 crawling around. Don't know where they've gone but they could have taken their buddies bodies with 'em when they went .... NNNNNNNNNNNNnnnnnooooooooooo - just noticed! 3 bodies, not 2! Do so hope they shrivel and drop out of sight!

It's been a good 10 to 15 degrees cooler today, in fact, decidedly chilly in comparison to the last few days but it's been so much more comfortable and the breeze and freshness has been most welcome. I'm looking forward to a good night's sleep tonight 'cos sure haven't had one for a few nights now!

Thanks for dropping by .....

Yet another ...

... phone call, yet another fall! This time he was getting out of bed on his own - and fell, hitting his head! Seems he can't stand without falling and nobody has any idea why. Paramedics were called again and yet again he refused to go to hospital so a doctor is going to have to check him out there. There's got to be a reason why this has started to happen but without him going to hospital to have tests it's unlikely we'll get to find the reason which means it's likely to continue. I know I've said it before but the change in my Dad, in such a short space of time, really is unbelieveable and a complete worry. Where he did nearly everything for himself (with a bit of support) and was mobile, before he moved, he's gone to being able to do nothing and he's not yet been moved a month ....

Took a few photos of some of the plants in the garden while I was wandering yesterday. I know a couple are probably weeds that are growing in a planter on the patio but - on the premise that a weed is a plant growing where you don't want it and these were quite pretty, I'm happy to have these 'weeds' growing in my planter so that makes 'em plants as far as I'm concerned - *LOL*

Cape Fuschia
This particular plant decided to plant itself where it is (it used to be a banana plant - *lol*) but the original came from Mum's garden by way of one sprig pulled from the ground. It is a prolific spreading plant which is why I've grown it in a planter but it's still spread itself anyway - into this 2nd planter that's some 10 feet away ... ish!



One of the probable weeds that I'm happy to let grow.


The other probable weed - *lol*


A beautiful climber - name unknown - which is in my neighbour's garden but overhangs into ours and very welcome!

Hebe
now in full flower, in central bed.


Euphorbia
also in central bed and seems to be on it's 2nd flush of 'flowers'.

I missed the escalonia in flower but I'm hoping that it will flower again some time. There are other varieties of hebe that are in bud but it doesn't look as though they will come into full bloom for a while yet as they are still tight. It's great to know that there will be more blossom and, although the border is completely evergreen, it's good that there is colour in it as well. Can't wait to see it really start to mature and fill out. I'm just so pleased with the progress this far considering, apart from planting it, I've done nothing .... not even watered it!

Last week I happened to look over my next door neighbour's fence and found they were allowing a poppy bed to grow - oriental type - and the plants had huge buds on them! Now, knowing what beautiful flowers we used to have from those that grew wild in our garden (seeded by wildlife) before it was done, the wonderful colours and the huge double blooms, I was hoping to get some piccies when bud broke, for use in my crafting. Yesterday I went to look and, sure enough, buds had broken but ..... they're all red poppies! Beautiful poppies most certainly but all red and not a double bloom amongst 'em! There's more to break bud but don't reckon there'll be any different. Took photo's anyway and was trying to get a bumble bee that was visiting one flower but neighbour saw me and came out for a chat (think he more worried about what I was up to hanging over fence!) and I never got said bumble bee!

Thanks for dropping by .....

Our garden ...

... today! The sun was shining and everything looked quite lush so I decided to take some photos to show how it's progressed since it was finished last year.

From the top ramp looking down.


From the decking area looking down.


From the bottom left (by small shed) looking up.


From the paved area to the plantings.


The bottom of the garden with cordyline from Dad's, well, more technically Mum's, garden and the palm from eldest's when house sold.

The planted area is filling out nicely now and the plant I thought we'd lost last year is growing. Can't see it from the front of the border 'cos the euphorbia is hiding it at the moment but I'm sure it will make it's presence felt at some point *LOL*

The 'nearly before' ..... here
The 'nearly after' (almost a year ago) ..... here
After the planting - September, last year ..... part of this post here

There's still a bit to do 'cos I want to put more containers around and there's also a water feature that needs to be connected up but it's getting there, being completed amidst doing other stuff as well. It's a vast improvement to what we've had for years and it's such a pleasure to wander around.

Thanks for dropping by .....