We've gone all dark and mysterious here

Just for a couple of weeks until the New (and *snuffle*.... last) Harry Potter book arrives. If anyone else loves it the template was from here.

The Time Traveller's Wife and Garden abundances.

I am currently listening to The Time Traveller's Wife as an Audio Book from Audible. You pay a monthly subscription charge (£7.99 for one book or £14.99 for 2) and for that you can choose any book from their website. The Time Traveller's wife is an unabridged version - at 18 hours long!! - and is an excellent listen! I've vaguely thought about buying the book several times, but it looked like one of those books I may or may not get around to reading! - I used to read a lot in the summer months whilst sitting in the garden, but now I tend to be knitting or crocheting, and you can't do both!!!! - An audio book is a fab idea. And in this case it's a far better way to get the story. It is read by two narrators, a male taking the role of Henry and a female the role of Claire. I don't know if I would ever have gotten "into" the book if I'd read it, but listening makes it so much more real. It's basically a love story, but with a twist! I'm half way through now, and have got to that point where I want to be listening to it all the time!!!! A definite recommendation.


I also wanted to show you these today. This is the area at the back of my garden where the chickens will one day live! I always get to the same state at this time in the year...... in the spring I turn it over and weed it thoroughly and then other things take over and it gets left just one week too long........ and then..... these grow.....................
all by themselves...... and let's face it you couldn't dig them up could you????!!!!! In effect they're weeds - I've never planted or sown them, but it just goes to show that a weed is a flower in the wrong place - and these....... well they can stay for (yet) another year!!!!!!

Finally, this weekend's courgette harvest! - It's started!

..How does your garden grow???..

Well apparently ... quite well!! The rain has helped keep everything ticking along, and my garden with it's "no shade" policy is trapping every bit of sun that we do get.... so everything is coming along beautifully!

In all honesty that's about all I have to show you for now, it's been raining almost incessantly all week so I've been busy tidying up some stuff here before starting work on Monday..... now all I have to do is some ironing (I can hear my mother laughing from here!!).

We're having the most amazing thunder storm here at the moment...... they make my head hurt so much, but I love them....... there's hardly anything better than a summer storm!

Apparently, I have a job!!

I start on Monday for three mornings a week!!!

I wasn't looking for a job (well come on that's not a surprise is it?) but an old friend phoned me saying that a local company were looking for someone to do their books and admin work and were basically struggling to keep up with all the office paperwork..... well that's what I'm good at!!!! so a few phone calls were made and there you have it - I'm employed!!


To be honest I'm not sure how I feel about it (how ungrateful is that!!) It's been a long time since I've had to fit in with the discipline of an office..... and I'll miss Spot loads!! But I think it'll be good for me for a while, and it's only for a three month trial, so I don't suppose it'll kill me!!!


Mind you I have now realised I have no decent clothes (can you turn up for your first day at work wearing what you walked the dog in last week??) and no shoes... thank God for eBay is all I can say!!!!! I have a bid on just about every size 10 blouse that is listed at the moment!!!! LOL! Going back to work is going to cost me a fortune!



Onto other things:- Lookie what I have finished....

Not a great photo as I had to turn off the flash to take the picture in the mirror, and then I couldn't hold the camera still enough. But you get the gist!!! It's not properly blocked, because I finished it, and then put it on and it hasn't come off since - it's a lovely colour, and just the right kind of cardi for this slight breeze we seem to still have in the air (I'm not complaining, I'd much rather a chill than hot and sultry any day)

In other news, the veggies are going great guns, and I had my first helping of runner beans at the weekend (with lamb chops and jersey royal potatoes, perfect) they were delicious. The corn has also started sprouting cobs (so sweet to look at) and something is eating my strawberries as soon as they ripen (I did catch Spot with one, but I don't think she's responsible for all of them disappearing!) There will be courgettes at the weekend too, just need a couple more days!

Well that's us all caught up folks. Have a good week.

Party for Silvia

I promised Silvia a party on my blog when Lewis Hamilton won his first Grand Prix. . . . . . . Well that has happened!! So here we go....

I have beer, and ginger cake... or tea or coffee if you prefer.... cheesey biscuits.... grab a seat while we watch the podium !!! ahhhh I must have dust in my eyes (!)

Just hope Robert Kubica is OK after that dreadful crash, sounds like he's OK, so fingers crossed and prayers for him

Lewis drove an incredible, mature race. Fabulous!!!!!

I'm Clean!

Water finally fixed last night (they were drilling the road from 9pm to 12:30 - I didn't care!!!) (Thames water have just phoned to thank me for my patience.... strangely it was this that nearly tipped me over the edge - Patience????????? that's the under-statement of the year!!!)

I'm afraid all my good water - keeping inclinations went slightly out the window this morning. I stood for a good 20 mins (if not longer) under a full blast steaming hot shower! - T'was Bliss!!!!!!

Training Update - 5 days to go

Well last night I actually managed to run 2 miles!!!!! (with a small 2 min break in the middle) !! It was a beautiful chilly evening, and I knew that the conditions were perfect for me. It must be said I was proud of myself!!! The raceforlife on Saturday is at 2pm, so if the weather is hot I know that I'm going to find it really hard as really we haven't had too much in the way of "heatwave" weather for training in! But I know now that I can do it, and even if I fail to run the half distance on Saturday I know that I've done what I set out to do!!

I am hugely grateful to all who have sponsored me, and I have often gone back and read your comments on my sponsor page to keep me going when training motivation was a little low!

Hopefully there will be piccies after the race! - well at least I'll have an excuse for looking a mess!

Thanks again, I'm running for us all x

Well, where to start?

Firstly an update on the knitting. This first photo of the sleeve in making, is a little better representative of the colour (although still not quite rich enough to do it justice) The second is the progress so far. I want to get it finished soon so I can move on to my next project! When it grows up it's going to be this DROPS 100-2

The next project is going to be this DROPS 101-22 in this:-

It's a little more feminine than I would normally wear, but a girl has to be a girl sometimes, and I think it'll be lovely for the summer!

So that's about it for knitting progress, now onto veggies:-

Here is bed one, with onions, carrots, cabbages and courgette (plus a couple of sunflowers round the back!) There are also a large number of weeds at the moment due to the rain, but hey at least the veggies are growing!!!!!

This second bed is the 3 sisters: Sweetcorn, runner beans, and butternut squash. The squash isn't doing very well, but everything else is making up for it.... and see on the left hand side is purple sprouting broccoli. I thought I'd pop it in there as it wouldn't be ready 'til after the winter, so I thought it would be really slow growing and small - how wrong can a person be!!!!! There is also a tomato plant and a couple of capsicums in this bed but they're not doing so well.... although it is really still only early and they have plenty of time to liven up!!!!

Next my birthday haul: With HUGE thanks to Mama (my beloved grandmother) who send me some money to splurge on myself. I bought these from Joycesupershop on eBay. There are 12 sets of 5 DPN's in all sizes from 2mm - 8mm all at 20cm long. Then there are another 4 sets of 15cm DPN's 2.25mm, 2.75mm, 3.25mm and 3.75mm (which are all great odd sizes for sock making!) Then 12 aluminium crochet hooks size 2mm - 8mm and 8 bamboo crochet hooks size 4mm - 10mm. All for under £20. Now they're never going to please needle snobs, but for those of us that like to ensure we have every size in-house for every eventuality, then these are perfect. The bamboo softens beautifully when used, the thinner needles are quite pointy and the thicker ones more rounded. Just perfect for socks and sleeves and all things round!!!!

I also bought this book on a bit of a whim and totally enabled by Chrissy. I have loads of stuff in my Amazon wish-list, but no I dove straight in and got something completely different! - Don't think I'll ever be making a wand-cover, but actually the jumpers, socks and odds and sods are lovely and very wearable. (Wonder how old DearNephew has to be before he will appreciate a Quidditch sweater?)
Along with the book I also bought an updated 1Gb MP3 player that plays audio books (yep I was enabled again by certain forum members!!!!) My last one didn't, but this one is cheap and cheerful and does the job! (You don't need a picture - it's an MP3 player!) and it comes with an armband so I can use it when jogging without popping it down my bra (you don't want to know!) Actually am miffed now as I've just seen that they've put the price down by £6. Still it was cheap at £24 so I can't complain!

So thanks Mama, it was lovely to treat myself!!!

Finally my eBay bargain for the month:-

£62 for the lot, collected from Reading. There's loads there, probably 100m in varying heights. More than I thought when I was bidding, and I'm chuffed to bits as (when I've found an equal bargain in the timber department) I'll be able to build the chickens a lovely big run, and have enough left for a small broody ark/hospital/quarantine area, so I can increase my chicken population a little!!!!!

Phew, must be time for a drink now, I'm exhausted!!!!!!!

p.s. Water to be fixed Thursday evening - watch this space!!!

Hey where did the week go?

You'll all be very pleased to hear that I have had a shower!!! - Went to visit a friend today (love you guys!) just to use their shower!!!

Thames Water and The Surrey County Council Highways department are arguing over who's fault it is that is isn't sorted yet - with both admitting it being unacceptable and both blaming the other.... I feel a letter coming on ! But I have been promised that it will be sorted by next week!!! (it wants to be, my raceforlife is on Saturday and after 5km I'm really going to need some hot water to ease my muscles!!!!)

The week has gone super fast, and I've been really busy...... but I don't seem to have done anything! Is it only me this happens to? I have often wondered if I live in a different time vortex to the rest of the population!

So tomorrow I will endeavour to catch you all up... there are purchases with my birthday money (a knitting book, needles, and some yarn!), ebay chicken wire delights, a washout of a bank holiday but loads of knitting, work (well ok I won't bore you with that!)