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Thursday 4 September 2014

It ain't half hot here.

Oops, I missed a day again, yesterday went by so quickly that it was bedtime before I thought about writing a post.

I have finished the scrappy sewing part of the purses that I want to make.


I am going to quilt this before cutting out the purses, it will be easier than quilting small bits and pieces and I can make sure not to waste very much.


This small polka dot will be the top band of all the purses and these are the small zips that I unearthed, all I need to do now is make time to make them.

I weeded the central bed in the front garden and thought that I would share these,





There are several more getting ready to flower, once they have died back I will be digging the bed out ready to replant. I have not decided exactly what will go in there yet. Under the window there are some elderly roses, I will prune these back and give them a potassium rich feed next spring in the hope that they will perk up. Between the roses I aim to plant Flowering Quince, the blossom is very pretty and quite long lasting and the fruits are sweet scented and make wonderful glowing pink jelly.
I have been toying with the idea of training a lollypop apple tree in the front but think that the wind might be a bit much for it.


My lonely Courgette plant has given me a few fruits since it,s poor start, there were 2 plants but one just withered away.





The peppers are thriving in the sewing room window, I will soon be drying some chillies.

I have done a great deal of work in the back garden.


This was the view through the gate up into the top part after i had cut 6 feet tall nettles and other weeds down, the poor little cherry tree was barely in the soil and has been dug out and rehomed.
There is a tree the other side of the little shed that needs lopping back and behind that roll of fencing is a straggly hawthorn blocking out even more light.
Through the old frame and more nettles is a rubbish dump, old TV,s, satellite dishes, fire grates, flower pots and old compost bags and all manner of broken stuff all thrown in and left.


The tree has been trimmed back, there is just a branch stump to come off, and all the branches have been woven to make a barrier at the back. When I finally hacked my way there I found that the boundary fence had collapsed, I thought that this was a good use for all the waste branches.



The hawthorn is out and those branches have joined the others making a barrier that I hope is impenetrable. The light now floods the new space, the frame on the right is over a small pond, once I can get it cleared I will decide if it is staying.

The reel of fencing has been untangled and stretched out on the rear lawn, there is enough to fence the right side in completely. You will have noticed that I have had some help, it took both of us 2 afternoons to get this far and we will probably take tomorrow to finish off. I plan on having another storage unit up there and a greenhouse. I have been researching on line and as soon as the ground is cleared will be ordering my greenhouse, I can hardly wait. I have just realised that the photos do not show the unit that is already there, I will take some more tomorrow.

My new mini oven has been used and I am very pleased with it, a quiche for dinner tonight and tomorrow, a loaf of wholemeal bread and a Blackberry sponge were all made today.

All I have bought this week is a lettuce at 49p, and a head of celery RTC 25p. I will need milk at some point early next week but have enough fresh fruit and veg for another week.

Reasons to be grateful.

1.  Sunshine made the work go faster.

2.  A helping pair of hands made the work easier.

3.  I now have the benefit of almost twice as much garden.

4.  My new neighbour is very pleasant, there may be a barbecue in my near future.

5.  I have found some new blogs to read, like minded people.

I have stopped following a few blogs, some have not had new posts for several months so I could not see the point of keeping them on my list. There are many more that I would like to follow but do not have the time to read all the posts.

I know that I have some new followers, I apologise for the distinct lack of a welcome, my poor excuse is that I have been busy, I will rectify matters on my next post.

Now it is time for tea or maybe a hot chocolate.

        TTFN                                                                     Pam













10 comments:

  1. A bit of elbow grease being used there, I'm exhausted just looking lol. Your chilli plant looks amazing! mine didn't even germinate.

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    Replies
    1. I am really pleased with all the extra garden space that I have gained, it was worth all the sweat. The pepper plants came from Lidl along with 2 tomato plants all for £1,. the toms have quite a lot of fruit as well and are now ripening. I am going to save some seed and try to keep the chilli going through the winter.

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  2. Looks like you have been working hard and seeing the progress made always makes you feel brighter as well I think.

    A good idea quilting the scrappy block first and then cutting it to make the purses. Reminds me that I really must get back to my quilting...seems ages since I did any.

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    Replies
    1. The hard work was well worth it, I have almost doubled my garden space. I hope to get sewing later today otherwise I will never get started on that quilting.

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  3. The scrappy quil looks amazing, I cant wait to see the purses. It looks like you have done hours and hours of hard work in your garden with plenty more to come, are you staying in your present house, I always thought it was a stop gap....maybe I missed something. x

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    Replies
    1. I have decided to stay here, the house is not in perfect condition but the layout suits me. The garden is quite large, now that I have opened the top part up, but not too big to manage. The exterior wood needs painting so I plan on speaking to the agents, if they supply the paint I will do the painting. My neighbours are lovely and I have made firm friends in the village, Ben has a group of doggy pals and has his preferred walks.

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  4. Wow you have been busy! I have been hard at it too getting the garden ready for spring sowing. Its great to look back on a hard days work isn't it. The scrappy quilt looks awesome. I have been thinking of getting a mini oven.

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    Replies
    1. I hope that over the next few days I will finish the clearing and fencing, I am off to a local garden centre later to ask about fruit trees and bushes. I hope to buy 3 year old container grown to give me a head start and fruit for next year. The mini oven is brilliant, about 3 minutes to heat up and is fan assisted, it even warms the plates on the top.

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  5. I'm looking forward to seeing the patchwork purses :) Crikey you have been working hard x

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    Replies
    1. I have enjoyed being outside, even though it was so hot yesterday, I had a quote for over £300 to do the work and all it cost me was elbow grease. Plus the benefit of working in the fresh air and burning a few extra calories.

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