Oops! and Oops Again!

So there I am with the cloth, carefully cleaning the kitchen table so that I can fold and sort all the clean laundry without getting grubby marks on anything...

...and then I think 'Oh I'll finish gathering the amaryllis seeds first!'...

....and in the course of detaching seeds from seed heads what do I do?

First of all I knock over the pot of carefully collected seeds, which are very fly-away and spray across the table...

...and then I knock over the amaryllis plant, which sends compost all over the table, chair and floor....

Back to square one- ho! hum!

On Saturday this lily came into flower- isn't it amazing? I think I must have let the pot dry out at the crucial time because of all the other flowers the petals have been holey; so you can imagine my delight! That night we had a ferocious storm and on Sunday morning my lily was destroyed...such a shame.

I'm sure there must be a lesson in that somewhere?

Yesterday we worked in the garden all day and boy! did I ache by the evening! Since I'm still at the stage of opening beds, digging, and doing mostly ground work it was pretty heavy going. I'm thinking of entering Mrs Universe Body-Building Competitions with all the muscles I must be acquiring- whacha think???

Today its bright and dry and windy so I began building a low dry-stone wall but now I'm huffing a break!

So, another wildly productive day at the coal face!

This 'n' that

No mean progress on the shed! The Hub used my absence wisely, apart from a fishing trip...(don't I sound just like a school marm!)...
These are the amaryllis seeds growing away quietly, its quite exciting really!

And here we have carrots, broad beans and scallions from the garden. Of course I didn't remember to plant some every fortnight so now I've a glut of scallions, and the rogue potatoes have taken over the carrots. What to do but eat the carrots, anyhow they are lovely and juicy. Wednesday was rather a washout as I slept all day, too much excitement in the big smoke, I guess. Today it rained all day (most unusual!!!) so all I could do was stand at the window watching the garden get away from me. Ho hum...

Sos has gone to stay on a friend's boat with a bunch of friends and then they have all sorts of events planned. Another friend is playing with his band on Sunday night so they are going to that. B is going to Dublin tomorrow to stay with Dilly for the long weekend. I've a funeral to play for tomorrow, a member of the congregation who was 96 and well beloved by friends and family, a life well lived. Sad, but more to be thankful for.

Teacup Tuesday, Skylight and a new Bag.

This is one of my mum's favourite china patterns, the tea-set is brought out on special occasions like birthday teas. I tried to do a cross-stitch tablecloth for her to match the set but it was quite complicated doing it on linen and I never finished it.

Well this morning began with a trip to the folks for the Hub to investigate the leaking skylight in their kitchen. He climbed out onto the roof, took it apart and sort of re-sealed it with silicon stuff normally used around bathroom sinks. It’s rather ‘Heath Robinson’ but they went on holiday this morning and its been raining non-stop the past few days.

Then we took B out to Ballisodare to a fishing competition where two friends were competing. It was raining when we left and I forgot to remind her to bring an anorak so of course she forgot. When the Hub demanded to know how she would avoid getting wet she answered (in some indignation); ‘Well I’m not intending to fall in the river, you know!’ Ummm, that wasn’t really the point, dear. (But actually, she didn’t, to my surprise!)

In the traffic we were behind a very dirty van upon which some wise-guy had written: 'Also in green.' We laughed so much, and then Sos got out the camera and took some photos, but it's not very clear. (I love the humour here.)

The front hall is now a workshop as, with all the rain, the hub got fed up running in and out trying to keep the tools dry. So now the garden table is inside with all the wood and tools and he can carry on working through rain and shine. We will say nothing about the sawdust, mud, wet, etc. Luckily when we floored the hall, kitchen and passage-way we were able to buy reclaimed timber boards (apparently from a 100 year old Convent in Belfast which had been demolished some time previously), which is over an inch thick and well able to withstand the abuse it gets in this household. They say not to floor a kitchen in wood but its brilliant, is wearing well and has significantly reduced our breakages compared to the cement and lino flooring in the rented house.

I finished sewing myself a new shoulder-bag this afternoon as the previous one disintegrated some time ago. It turned out quite well I think although I used fabric that was a bit thick. I was trying to make it tough enough as I’m pretty hard on a bag and I hate having a new one. The embroidered bit is sort of broderie perse which came of a scrap of curtain material I found.

If you remember, I planted amaryllis seeds some weeks ago and I am delighted to say they are beginning to germinate. I am both amazed and delighted!

Last night I came across a students’ writing competition whilst on the internet so I showed B and Sos. The upper limit was 18 so Sos just made it. The prize is to meet Anthony Horowitz, children’s author, and the deadline is tomorrow night. Well both girls have written a story today and emailed it which is good going for them, not notably speedy these two gargoyles.

Well B has been collected from the river, pizzas are in the oven and suppose I had better find some supper for myself since I can’t eat pizza- they do smell good!