He who shall be nameless thought he'd locked the shed keys in the shed. 
I'm delighted he's going to a friend- you can't sell dolls and elves to just anybody you know!
This is what this morning looks like: real summer weather, but it hasn't actually begun raining.
Progress on the shed! The Hub has been hard at it all weekend, and now the roof is on (minus the felt membrane) he isn't getting as wet.
Yesterday I thoroughly weeded the veg beds and boy! did they need doing. I had to slather myself in Jungle Juice as it was very buggy, but tidy veg beds are so satisfying to gaze upon.
Lots of broad beans coming along, we had the first batch with dinner last night- it's my favourite veg, but only home grown, the bought ones have no flavour.
The packet instructions of these mangetout said they were low-growing, which I took to mean they didn't need staking. Obviously it meant they only need short stakes! With all the little curly tendrils they are now a tangled mat, but very happy and putting out plenty of flowers, so I'm hoping the harvest won't be affected by my ignorance! Mum used to grow mangetout when we were children, but she kept eating them straight off the plants! The Hub tossed this mat back onto the bed whilst cutting the grass but it has to be out as a few tomatoes and a basil have decided to grow beside it.
Here you can view the rogue potato which has taken over the carrot patch. I pulled as many of the carrots from under the potato leaves as I could find, and we had them for dinner too as they weren't going to bo doing much more growing with that monster breathing down their necks. I suppose I could have pulled the potato? Oh and the white flowers are self seeded rocket.
Finally found where the nasturtium went, it was hiding under the dock leaves- what? you don't have dock leaves in your veg patch? What do you do to remove nettle stings then? Oh, you don't have nettles either? Well don't boast about it, if you had extreme rheumatism you would be wanting to roll naked in a nettle patch at dawn...or maybe sunset...or is that arthritis I'm thinking of...
I planted two whole packets of tomato seeds and something ate most of them and the rest are kinda spindly. The single tomato I DIDN'T plant turns up in the scallion patch and is thriving. Sometimes I think my veg patch has its own agenda, or else it just really knows how to get up my nose.
And then when the rain set in and I was waiting for the dinner to cook, I got out the quilting and did quite a bit. Kim, at http://kimsbigquiltingadventure.blogspot.com/ is having an 'Encouraging August' for all those sluggards (like me) who need a bit of motivation to get their projects finished. Great idea, especially since I need to have two small quilts done and delivered by the end of August and I'm finding it hard to keep at them. The other top is still in blocks, not sewn together.
And as if you aren't fed up with all the photos, here's a few from the hedgerows which I took this morning. As I've said before, I love the way hedgerows develop and change with the seasons, and year to year. Patrick Whitefield has a new book out which is about how nature changes landscape through time as well as between places. Its on my wish list for next year when all the expense of Debs' dress, Kenya visitors, Sos and Dilly's College monies are done. (Tried to do a link but as some of you know my links are a bit dodgy:book is called 'The living landscape: how to read and understand it')
several different ferns growing on the wall together.
Irish lanes are often so worn down that they are almost tunnels, here the top of the bank was way over my head (as are most things...)
And there you have it! or as Bugs Bunny says 'That's All Folks!'
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....jpg)
Sunday was one of my ‘couldn’t wake up days’. Lucky it was Sunday as when they occur there is nothing I can do except sleep it off. An expenditure of too much nervous energy I think, but at least the girls are old enough for it to not be the inconvenience it once was. The Hub said I missed a good sermon on 2 Corinthians 12 v2-10: ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ The Rector was in fine form, mind you, he is a good speaker and his sermons are always worth noting and considering. I got out the passage this evening and though Paul wrote those words as being applicable to himself, they are still so relevant, perhaps even more in present times of uncertainty. Paul says he can only boast about his own weakness because it is then that God’s power is most visible to others through him. Today, as I unfortunately started to slide again down into my own black pit (the Slough of Despond) I’m holding tight to the same words- ‘My grace is sufficient for you.’ It better be, Lord!
This morning Sos, B and I went to Enniskillen with Mum and Dad for a bit of an outing. There are always some things you can’t buy in the south, but can in the north, and Enniskillen is our nearest town across the border. It poured on and off all day there too. The girls had a lovely time pottering, and B got some unusual stickers for her card- making, as well as three books in the Bargain Bookshop. Sos got a smart top, she doesn’t ‘do’ books, I think she must be a changeling. Dad and I were finished first so we sat by the main door in the Erneside and watched the rain. He started the cryptic crossword in today’s paper (1. across: ‘a pop festival’….Fathers’ Day) and I supervised! He asked to borrow a pen, then told me it was no good because it would only knew the answers to four letter clues… There’s a quote from ‘Friends’ the girls love to use at me, I think it was said by Rachel: ‘I tried so hard not to turn into my Mother that I’ve turned into my Father!’ The girls say they only have to look at my Dad to know exactly the way I’ll be in another thirty years! Hmmm…
The Hub’s Mother is supposed to be coming to visit in October and our spare-room is still in the same condition that the builders left it three years ago. The Hub is getting a bit ansty so has been pricing sheds- well yes, I thought lawn-mower, garden equipment, camping stuff, and tools etc belonged in a spare room too, but he has this funny idea that they should be in a shed. It must be a Kenyan notion I suppose. Anyhow, after some discussion with various timber-merchants, and shed-sellers, he’s decided to build a shed and then clear the spare room. Well good luck to him, he’s about three months to do it: I’ll make the curtains nearer to October, I’m not getting excited just yet! I’ll not even measure the windows just yet!! I’m not a pessimist, I’m a realist!
I was playing with the camera and the panorama program, this is the view around the north and east of our house, as you can tell its a very built up area! I'm wondering if its come out inside out though as that blobby hill shouldn't be to the east. Ah well! It was fun!
