I`ve Bought Another One...lol!

Hello Everyone,

It`s been another cold and wet day again here, and as if to rub salt in the wound, the sun is shining now the day is more or less over....grrrrr!

It was really slow at work with only the bravest of customers venturing out, most of them complaining about the weather and how bad it makes them feel...hmm. I know what they mean but the weather is something we can`t control and I suppose we just have to get on with it, at least the water board won`t be slapping a drought order on us this year...lol!

Just as I was about to leave work Jim turned up to buy me lunch and I wasn`t even expecting him home until after 3pm. We had a nice lunch in the garden centre cafe and then I did some plant shopping.....yes, again!  Right next to the cafe is the houseplant dept. and I decided to have a look at the orchids as I haven`t been near them in ages. Of course it was a wrong move as I saw a real beauty sitting there just asking to be bought and taken home. It`s an absolute beauty as I`m sure you`ll agree and along with the new pot that I bought, it now has pride of place on the living room sideboard.

Isn`t it a beauty?

It`s a Miltonia but is more commonly known as a pansy orchid because of the shape of it`s flowers. I`ve had my eye on one in Marks&Spencer but even when they discounted it it was still far too expensive. This one already had £3 of the original price and I had my discount on top of that so it was a real bargain, if I had more room I`d buy another but every window sill in the house has an orchid, apart from Danny`s room....now there`s a thought...lol!

 

Jim took this photo of the Canada geese family while he was fishing yesterday.

I really want to get out in the garden and plant out all of the summer bedding but it will have to wait until a) it stops raining for at least a day and b) that it warms up a little. I don`t want to plant them and they all fail because of the cold. The garden looks really green and overgrown and there has been some weather damage too. Yesterday morning I had to re-stake my beautiful peony that had been flattened. I wouldn`t have minded but I had it staked really well but the stakes had been pulled out of the ground by the force of the wind and rain. The magnolia had several small branches blown down and many of it leaves are spread all over the garden. At least I`ll have some stuff to put in the composter, which I might add, is filling up nicely and will be ready to be dug into the garden by the Spring if it carries on the way it is.

I don`t know if I`ve ever mentioned the blue tits that have been nesting in the box on the house wall.  If been watching the parent birds flying backwards and forwards to the tree where the feeders hang and we could all hear the baby birds cheeping get louder and louder. Yesterday however, I couldn`t hear them at all, neither could I today so I think the family have flown away for good. I haven`t even seen the parents at all since and it looks as though sparrows have taken their places at the seed feeders. It`s a shame because I`ve been trying to get a photo of the young as they took their maiden flight but I`ve missed it all...oh well.

Jake has to go to the vet tomorrow, he stopped limping once the Rymadil kicked in so I stopped the tablets and the limp has returned. He`s only had a very short lead walk yesterday and nothing more today. He doesn`t seem to want to go out which isn`t at like Jake so we have to find outwhat`s going on with him. I do wonder if he`ll mind the vet to handle his leg, he didn`t like having his booster injection but then again he`s a real baby, not like our tough Hannah who never flinched her whole life and practically laughed in the face of pain...hmm, typical male...lol!

I was going to show you a photo of my new curtains but AOL wouldn`t let me, they said the file size was too big , as was the close-up photo of my new orchid. I`ll have to try another format and see if it will work that way.  I hope you`re all having a nice week and with better weather than here. Take care my friends and I`ll be back soon. Bye for now.:o)

Wet,Wet,Wet!

Hello Everyone,

Well, what a dreadful weekend we`ve been having weather-wise. We must have more of the wet stuff in the past two days than the whole of April when it`s traditionally supposed to rain. So much for the Bank Holiday, everyone seems to have stayed indoors with the central heating on, me included this afternoon.

Yesterday I went to Reading for the afternoon with Kerry and Slava and again, it was pouring with rain. Kerry constantly complained of the cold and Slava, who is trying to give up smoking, wasn`t in the best of moods.  It wasn`t a bad day out though, apart from it taking over half an hour to get out of the car park with many motorists beeping their horns at everyone else, goodness knows why, we we all stuck in the queue and had to wait our turn. The wait didn`t please Roman who decided to have the mother of all tantrums. I know he can yell if he wants but did he go for it yesterday, he wouldn`t be pacified either so we left him to his own devices and waited for the storm to subside......even though it did take about an hour.  That boy can howl for England...lol!

It was work as normal for me but I suspected the time would drag as I couldn`t imagine anyone wanting to buy plants in this weather. Well I was wrong and we did have a steady stream of people, not not as many as you would expect for a Bank Holiday Monday. On the way to work the roads were flooded and I think I was very lucky that my car made it there without cutting out.  I decided to take another route home to be on the safe side.  After work I decided to buy some more bedding plants and I chose some more petunias, some fuchsias, one of which has beautiful pink and green variegated leaves, some dianthus and several other little plants for my tubs and baskets. All I need now is some improvement in the weather so I can plant them out. When I got home I looked out at the garden and was dismayed to find that the tomato plants had been blown over. That meant I had to open the garden shed and find some more canes to support them. I was already pretty wet so a few more minutes in the rain didn`t make much difference.  Once I`d done that I turned my attention to a few other plants that the wind had blown over and by the time I got back indoors I was soaked to the skin. A nice hot shower beckoned followed by a hot coffee and a toasted sandwich, by which time I began to feel almost human again...lol!

Jake has something wrong with his leg and I`m more than a little worried about it. He started limping on his front leg yesterday afternoon. I had a look but there is nothing that I can see or feel, either in his paw or on his leg.  This has happened before with the same leg but not as badly as this. I gave him a Rymadil tablet this morning and it seems to have helped but he`s very subdued and not his normal self. Both Jim and I had the same thought, probably because of our beloved Hannah, that bone cancer can show itself this way. I`m sure it isn`t but I don`t think this is just a case of a pulled muscle.  We`ll give him a couple more days and if it`s no better it`s off to the vet woth him

Anyway, my friends, I`m off to prepare dinner for myself, Dan and Salina while poor Jim is at work (most likely sheltering under the wing of a plane!).  It`s only lamb steaks, new potatoes and peas but it`ll be a tasty meal I`m sure. I hope you all have a lovely afternoon and evening. Bye for now. :o)

 

 

A Proper Entry...(it`s long!)

Hello Everyone,

Now for the proper entry I promised you last night. I know a lot of things happened last week but  I`m having trouble remembering them at the moment...lol!   Right, here we go then, I`ll start from last Sunday`s outing to Kew Gerdens.

We had a wonderful but extremely tiring day at the gardens, we covered almost the entire area which is quite a feat for a two people with the combined age of 110...lol! I think perhaps if we`d gone two weeks earlier or two weeks later we might have seen some more dramatic flower displays but no matter, we loved what we saw and the weather was lovely...even though it cost a small fortune, the gardens that is not the weather...lol!  It now costs £12.25p/$24 EACH to get in though Jim found some discount vouchers online so we saved a few pounds. The Royal Bontanical Gardens Trust is a charity so that must be the reason for the cost but the food there was very expensive too, we should have taken a picnic like many other people did.  I was certainly not disappointed with the orchids I saw there ( they have 2,500 varieties!)  though obviously they weren`t all in flower at the same time so there weren`t that many on show. The ones we saw however were gorgeous as you will have seen in the photos I posted.  We visited Kew Palace though we didn`t bother going inside and walked through the garden instead. Later we visited Queen Charlotte`s cottage deep in the woods. It was used as a summer house by the wife of King George III and even though it is much larger than the average home in England it was only used for the occasional picnic. After the cottage and much walking around through Japanese, Malay, English and French gardens, we bought an ice cream and headed for home feeling happy after a lovely day out.

 

The orchid I bought from Tesco for £3 from Tesco because the flowers were dying off. Look at it now, it has 12 flowers on the two spokes.

MONDAY

Work was not that busy as the weather wasn`t all that nice. There`s nothing like a drop of rain to keep all but the most determined gardeners away from the centre. I was feeling really tired and achy despite a good night`s sleep, all that walking certainly had taken it`s toll. Danny and Salina were supposed to arrive home from Cuba today but Jim checked their flight number and there was no sign of it arriving at the time Danny gave us......nor later in the day....or tomorrow.  How strange, what on earth had happened to my son?  As I said jokingly to Kerry, he has a way of causing a stir even when he`s not in the country...lol!  I went to buy new curtains this afternoon, I found the perfect pair too. The assistant then told me that they weren`t in stock but she could order them but it would take two weeks. Well what was a couple more weeks after all the time I`ve had no curtains at all?  I put in the order and will wait in hope.

A blue tit eating suet balls from a feeder in the Magnolia tree.

TUESDAY

This morning Danny and Sal finally arrived home.  What happened was that Dan gave us the time of departure NOT the time of arrival, also the airline didn`t notice the mistake either, oh well, all`s well that ends well. Today was very busy at work and I barely had time to do anything other than serve customers, and I certainly had my share of the most awkward ones too. These days I`m not intimidated by them like I was when I first started working there. Now I think to myself, ...No I couldn`t possibly say what I think but feel free to use your imagination...lol! We still have the roadworks going on outside with our little road and pavement being resurfaced. The men doing the work seem to take a delight in inconviencing residents as much as possible. They block the road with their vans and refuse to move to let us through despite asking them politely, they just sit there and laugh...BAH, I`ll be glad when they are gone for good!

Rosa `Aloha`. This is one of the climbing roses in my garden and has a wonderful perfume as well as being very beautiful.

WEDNESDAY

I bought some of my bedding plants today and started planting out almost as soon as I got home. I bought surfinias, petunias, nemesia, allysum, bacopa and ivy and I really hope once they are established they will look really nice. I also bought a couple of hanging baskets, two for the price of one .One of them with fuchsias and the other with petunias and they look really lovely. I worked out that it was cheaper to buy them ready made than to buy the plants, even with discount. Once all the flowers are at their best I`ll post some photos.

 

THURSDAY

Roman was helping me plant out again today, he just loves to help, especially if it means he can get his hands dirty, which he often does. His favourite thing to do is water the flowers...or his shoes, whichever takes his fancy at the time!  I`m glad Kerry isn`t there to see what he gets up too, she`d have a fit if she knew half of it...lol!  After a while he decided that planting flowers was boring and that digging them up again was far more fun so I asked Danny to play with him while I finished what I was doing. When I cleared everything away, one little boy had a much needed bath. Had a phone call, the curtains have arrived already...Oh joy!

FRIDAY

The end of the month and pay day! Thank goodness as I have some big expenses coming up. We go on holiday to Russia at the end of June and when we get home my car insurance, tax and M.O.T are due at the same time in July so I`m saving as much as I can at the moment.  However.....I bought a new winter duvet for our new bed...well it was in the sale in Marks&Spencer and I couldn`t resist....you know me!  Also at the end of July Little Man has his second birthday. I can`t believe he`s almost two already, where has the time gone and what has happened to that sweet little baby?  Now we have a cheeky-faced, inquisitive who doesn`t stop talking...lol!  But, I wouldn`t have it any other way, he`ll always be my darling Little Man however old he is. :o)  Danny collected the curtains from the shop and they look gorgeous.

TODAY

Hairdressers this morning for roots and a trim, and I`m very happy with it. I did all the ironing a day early so tomorrow will be a totally work free zone...wonderful!  Will watch a DVD this evening in peace as Jim is on late shift and we`ll hang the new curtains when he gets home from work. I`ve just realised how long this entry is so I hope you haven`t all fallen asleep through boredom...lol! Have a lovely evening. :o)

 

The Last of Kew

Hello Everyone,

Here are the last of the photos that we took at Kew Gardens last Sunday. I really hope to be able to post a proper entry tomorrow as I`m just too tired to be bothered with one this evening. I think this format is the best of the bunch as far as displaying photos is concerned. I just wish I had the choice of the old system which certainly was by far the best to display this type of pics.  Have a great weekend my friends. :o)

 

 

 

The Strange and The Beautiful ~ Photo Entry

These are half of the photos we took at Kew gardens on Sunday, I`ll post the others tomorrow. It`s a shame I couldn`t put in captions but some of the pics speak for themselves as you will see. Stand by for the beauty and sometimes very strange plants that you can see at Kew.

 

 

 

Weekly Catch-up

 

Hello Everyone,

I`ve been wanting to post an entry for the last few days but something always happens to stop me so I`m doing it now as I won`t have time tomorrow!  It`s been a strange week one way or another with things happening all around me. The house has been very quiet...and tidy with Danny in Cuba for the week..a bit strange on Friday though as it was his 30th birthday and he wasn`t here for it so  I just hope he`s having a wonderful holiday out there. A nephew of ours has been there and he told us it`s a great place for a holiday and he enjoyed every minute of it.

The weather has been wet and cold all week, except yesterday which I suppose must been we`re getting April weather in May after last month`s Summery days. Hopefully on Monday I`ll buy my summer bedding plants and keep them in the greenhouse until I think it`s time to plant them out. The heavy rain was very welcome in the garden, not just for the plants but the weeds as well so I`ll have to get out there soon and get rid of them soon...sigh.  That`s one part of gardening that I don`t particularly enjoy...oh well it must be done.

On Thursday I took Jake to the vet for his annual booster and health check. When I arrived the vet nurse told me that she had tried to contact me to cancel because the vet was operating on an emergency. A German Shepherd ex-police dog was badly savaged by two Mastiffs that had escaped from their garden. The attack lasted 30mins and the poor GSD almost has his throat torn out, two of his ribs half eaten and his back and legs badly chewed.  The vet called in the RSPCA who took photos of the dogs wounds and hopefully action will be taken against the dogs owners. There have been several articles in the local paper about attacks by these dogs but this time was the most serious of them all. Luckily the GSD survived surgery and my vet said it was just a question of `wait and see`. Being police trained and a big butch dog helped because a smaller and less tough breed wouldn`t have survived at all.  Later on when I

Washed Out Weekend

Hello Everyone,

How are you on this wet and miserable Monday afternoon?  I was going to buy all my bedding plants today but I just didn`t have the heart for it so after lunch Jim and I went looking for some curtain poles for the living room. We did want wooden ones but they weren`t suitable for the type of curtains we bought.  In the end we bought metal ones which are really nice but a bit more expensive. Oh well, it`s not something you buy every day is it?

We`d spent the weekend at Jim`s sister and BIL, Sue and Steve`s and we had a lovely time apart from the foul weather. On Saturday Sue, her grandson and me went to a really nice shopping centre called Western Cross which caused me to part with more of my hard earned wages yet again...lol! Actually the only thing I bought myself was a pair of earrings that cost £2.50 and the rest was spent on Roman, no I tell a lie, I bought four curtain hooks...lol! We were out for four hours and were glad to get home and put our feet up and enjoy a cup of tea. Jim and Steve had taken Jake for a marathon walk along the sea front and the beach where he had a great time chasing Sandpipers and swimming wildly back and forth chasing the waves...lol!

In the evening we went for a meal to a place that Sue and Steve often visit. It`s an Italian restaurant called Mariotti`s and it is always, without fail, fully booked. We soon discovered why once we tasted the food, it was absolutely wonderful and so reasonably priced too. It is run by a husband who waits on tables and his wife who is the chef. She cooks all the food freshly on the premises and the desserts, well I couldn`t make up my mind which one to have but ended up with the raspberry pavlova which was.....can I say divine?! The cost of living in Kent is so much cheaper than here and I can`t wait until the time when we can move there. We`ve seen several properties that are well within our price range with quite a bit of change to spare. All of the properties would cost another £50-100,000 in this part of the country so we would be much better off financially. Jim would move tomorrow if it wasn`t for his job but he is looking around just in case something comes up as you never know what`s round the corner.

I`ve had a few requests about photos of my orchids so I`ll take some for you. Only one is in flower at the moment but I`ll show you photos of the other and point out the new growth in each one and I hope you won`t be bored...lol!  I was sorely tempted to buy another one today, a Miltonia, but I won`t pay full price for them as I prefer to raise a healthy flowering plant from a sad looking one. I might sound a bit silly to you but that`s just how I like to do things.

With the weather being so miserable we had very few customers today which made for a boring day at work with everyone looking as miserable as the weather, the staff that is, not the customers. I just hope tomorrow will be better as Tuesdays are usually busier than a Monday. This morning Jim cleaned the living room carpet with a hied steam cleaner. He told me that when he started to clean it it started to leak. He then took the leaking part back to the shop and came home and carried on. He then found that leaked too so back to the shop he went again. Back he came and started again and this time the nozzle on the end fell apart. This time he couldn`t be bothered to go back again and he fixed it the best he could and finished the job. The carpet looks fantastic and looks brand new again, despite the broken nozzle. Tomorrow I think Jim will probably put up the curtain poles and I can hang the new curtains that, incidently, arrived on Friday.

Anyway, my friends.  I`ll say goodbye for now and I hope you all have a lovely evening. Take care. :o)

 

 

Two Entries in Two Days!!!

Hello Everyone,

Please don`t be too shocked.....this is my 2nd entry in two days. It must be the change in the weather...lol! It was pouring with much needed rain this morning and I thought we`d not have many customers today, despite the Bank Holiday. Was I wrong! For the 4 hours I was there I barely had time to breathe so the time flew by. I should have known that the weather is no deterrent for a true gardener. I am really tired though and it didn`t help this morning getting up for work while Jim and Dan were still fast alseep in bed. :o(

                     

What was nice though was the journey to work. We have some major roadworks right along the main road from our house and each morning it is utter chaos. This morning however even the road men were having a holiday and I hardly saw any cars all the way there, it certainly made a pleasant change from a normal days travelling.

                     

At last I have have found curtains that Jim likes as well as me. It wouldn`t have really mattered whether he liked them or not by that time as I was fed up with looking...lol!  I was a bit put off by the cost because they more than I really wanted to pay. However, when I came to pay for them I found they`d taken 10% off for the Spring sale and they cost even less than I had budgeted for. That`s what I call a result! Oh yes, I forgot to say, they are chocolate brown faux suede with an eyelet heading. They will compliment the wallpaper which is mainly cream. When the room is completely finished I`ll take some photos so you can judge for yourself. Jim is painting the door at the moment and then he`ll be cleaning the carpet. He`s really done a great job of the decorating and I`m really impressed...now which room needs doing next?  lolol!

                                     

My orchids have been doing so well this last month. The one I bought from Tesco for £3 has both spikes back in flower and when the buds have all opened I will have at least 13 flowers on it. The first orchid that came into my life was one that was being thrown away at work. It only had one flower spike but now a new one has formed and it`s almost 5" long already. Two others have the beginnings of new spikes and another a new leaf.  It has to be luck because I didn`t know anything about them until I started working at the garden centre. Now I have people asking me about orchids all the time because they know I keep them. That`s one of the reason`s I`d hate to have to leave my job, I just love the plants and everything to do with them....and of course the general public who I love working with, even the miserables ones if truth be told.

                              

Today I bought some stuff called Garotta for adding to my compost and break it down faster. I`ve sprinkled it on, watered it well and gave it a good stir with a garden fork. I could feel the heat coming from it so it`s on course to be ready for next Spring.  I have to watch Jim and Dan though in case they put the wrong stuff in it though they know better than to cross me where the compost heap is concerned....lol! Clanging the subjest matter, we all had a really nice meal last evening though Roman wasn`t in the mood for sitting still and kicked up a bit of a fuss...hmm...the "terrible two`s" are here to stay for a good while yet!  Anyway, I`ll say goodbye to you all and hope that you enjoythe rest of the holiday.  Bye Bye for now. :o)

 

                                        

Catching Up

Hello Everyone,

I think it`s time I posted an entry seeing as how it`s been almost a week since the last one. I did mean to post on Tuesday but I didn`t get around to it and the rest of the week just flew past so here we are.

I spent all of last weekend either doing housework or gardening, much like this weekend though this time I just did the housework, yesterday was too cold to be gardening and anyway I just didn`t have anything to do out there. The weeding was up to date and apart from feeding some of the plants that was it it so I concentrated on the house. Well the upstairs that is, Jim is wallpapering the living room so I kept out of his way for most of the day. I can`t wait for it to be finished so we can all sit down comfortably with the curtains closed in the evenings. At the moment we don`t have any curtains at all as I`m still searching the internet for some that we both really like. Each time I find some that are perfect Jim doesan`t like them or tells me that it`s up to me....MEN!  The way things are going we won`t have any until Christmas so I`ll be back on the net this afternoon with a view to making a decision this afternoon.

Last Sunday I spent much of the afternoon up the magnolia tree scraping off scale insects that have attacked it`s bark. At my age I really didn`t think I`d find myself climbing trees but needs must, and anyway it`s not THAT big a tree...lol!

Monday was a busy day at work as usual and the atmosphere there hasn`t changed at all. Either I live with it or get another job because I can see problems ahead which is a shame because I love the job, it`s the boss who hasn`t really taken to me...sigh. All I can say is that I work really hard and I can only do my best, the rest is up to them. I must admit I`ve started looking at other jobs in a casual way but if something better comes up...I think I`ll have to go for it.

We`ve had a lot of fun with Roman this week, he`s learned that the video has an opening at the front which is perfect for pouring drinks into! Jim caught him just in time the other day as he was tipping some juice into it. He seems to be learning so much everyday and it`s getting harder than ever to keep up with him. On Friday he tried to run off down the road when we were getting into the car and wasn`t very happy that he didn`t succeed. He certainly keeps me fit that`s for sure, no wonder my weight is back to what I call my "working weight". I`m the slimmest I`ve been since I left Royal Mail so it must be down to work and Roman.

Yesterday I spent the last of my birthday money, well it was a Next voucher actually, on a lovely pair of wedge heeled sandals. They are really nice and very comfortable, which is very important to me. I can`t wear shoes, however nice, if they aren`t comfortable and I can never understand how anyone else can either. This month I have bought myself a few things in preparation for our holiday to Russia next month. The weather should be lovely by the time we go so Summer clothes will be the order of the day. St.Petersburg in June is the time of the "White Nights" when it doesn`t get dark until about 1am and then it gets light again an hour later, it should be very intersting and we are really looking forward to it.

Slava has sold his flat in St.Petersburg and he and Kerry have now arranged a mortgage and will be house-hunting by the end of the month. We have a friend that is a broker and he has arranged a great deal for them and has even arranged the solicitors. The lease to their flat expires in August so they have time to find a place to move into by then. They are both very excited at the prospect of having their own home and in particular a garden for Roman to play in. He spends hours playing in our garden and Kerry wants that for him too.

This afternoon we are going out for our dinner to a local carvery. Jim has asked Kerry, Slava and Roman to come along with us. Danny and Salina could have come but they went out before we could ask them. Dan and Sal are going on holiday to Cuba on the 14th May to celebrate Dan`s 30th birthday on the 18th. I had hoped he would have been here for his special day but never mind, we can celebrate when he comes home. I can`t believe my youngest childis almost 30, it makes me feel ancient...lol!  Never mind, he gave me a great big hug yesterday and although I won`t say what he said to me it meant the world.

Anyway, my friends. Before I go, to my dear friend Jeannette who is undergoing radiotherapy at the moment. I`ll be thinking of you each day and I pray the treatment isn`t making you feel too bad.

Bye Bye for now.