Reflecting on my week #102

My day off on Friday was just what was needed. While I might not have stepped outside the whole day, I gave myself some space to empty my head, and got some chores done. It wasn’t necessarily glamourous but I’ve caught up with the washing (small wins, hey?) and ordered my 2016 photo year book. Yes, 2016, but in my defence it’s been outstanding for a while, so it’s good to get it done.

It’s not been all domestic bliss though, we thought we had problems with our boiler - and we still might - a pool of water keeps occuring; we’re not sure if it’s a coincidence that it’s been on heavier rain days, or not. Our dishwasher has taken to not emptying the water completely, leaving the bottom of the machine a puddle of dirty water, and my washing machine ate one of the towels.

Indeed.

We think we’ve fixed the dishwasher though. A plastic thing (technical term) became dislodged earlier in the week with MOH’s help, when he was trying to fix it. Some googling, which it seems dishwasher symptom searching is a bit like googling your own medical symptoms and best avoided, suggested our pump drain could have gone. Being a bit old school, I looked out the leaflet that came with it almost six years ago.

That helped us work out that one of the plastic parts under the filter shouldn’t have been loose - you’re supposed to need a spoon to prise it out, we didn’t. But it was one of those daft diagrams that made no sense, so it took the two of us longer than it should have to operate on the dishwasher. It seems fixed, so fingers crossed it’s nothing more than that.

It doesn’t solve the small puddle of water under the boiler though, so we’re keeping an eye on that. Of course the boiler is just out of warranty, it would be wouldn’t it?

So the towel. It was one of those big bath sheets, and one that’s soft and generally behaves. Emptying it from the machine and folding it so it was easier to air, but wondering why it didn’t fold properly, I soon saw it’s ripped along half the length. No idea how it happened, only that I’m sure it happened in the washing machine. It’s quite old (ahem) so it’s not the end of the world, but you can bet your life I won’t find one the same or similar.

MY GERBERA IS CONTINUING TO FLOWER

Sunday was a much nicer day here than Saturday and we even got out into the garden. My time in the garden was cut short though, thanks to a wasp, but before that I managed to get the garden lights into the greenhouse and pack away the table and chairs, which had managed to dry out. The wasp, I discovered, was in my gardening glove, and it didn’t end well for either of us.

It stung me on the base of my index finger, and my finger and palm promptly swelled. The pain, was wasp sting painful, but initially I didn’t know what had happened, until I peered into the glove. There wasn’t room for us both, and while I headed inside in search of vinegar, MOH evicted the unwanted guest.

Guess who’ll be checking what’s inside her gardening gloves going forward?

Then there was the rugby, a great game for England on Saturday to reach the Rugby World Cup Final, and a not so great game for Wales on Sunday. Our biggest decision this week is where to watch the final next Saturday. I’d be very happy watching it from the sofa, but MOH is keen to head a bit further afield.

We’ll see how it goes, but I’ve a feeling I’ll be picking up items for a cooked breakfast on the way home Friday…

My garden in September

I realised yesterday that with everything else going on (and mostly going on away from the blog) that somehow we’d reached way into October before I’d shared my regular garden update post. So here it is, there are less photos than usual, but that’s reflecting less time in the garden for all the reasons I’ve already mentioned.

It was good to look through the photos though, as seeing that we had sun was a good reminder, and a bit of a shock after all the rain we’re starting to get used to. The lushness of this climbing plant was rewarding too, as it was one of the ones I spent time rescuing after the new neighbour got a little too over-enthusiastic trimming my plants. I was pretty certain I could rescue some, but I wasn’t sure how well they’d behave, and I’ve been pleasantly surprised.

You wouldn’t believe quite how much they’ve grown - most of the way up the fence panel. We added the plastic-coated wire fencing, which we’d brought back from the allotment, to use as a trellis. MOH wasn’t keen on the aesthetics, but actually it’s worked well and I’d consider actually buying some in the future to use instead of trellis. It’s easy to put up - we used a staple gun - and quickly it fades away, the dark colour helps.

Some pretty garden lights also make it a little more magical, though it’s been a while since we’ve sat outside. The table is still uncovered, being the optimist that I am, I’m hoping that it will be dry enough soon so that we can cover it up for the winter.

While the photo below isn’t the best, you can see just how far it’s come in a relatively short space of time.

In case you’re wondering, the brown and dead/dying plant on the far side of the trellis is the ivy that our neighbour was trying to remove, and trying to make out was ours. It isn’t. And it’s no longer there, or at least that part isn’t. They’ve done the same further down the garden and have rather cheekily, somehow heaved it over the fence, which I’m not too happy about. And while we never had The Chat before, I’m trying to resist the urge for the dead ivy to miraculously hop over the fence again. I know I should be the bigger person, but, the dead ivy hop is very tempting.

Let’s look at some pretty fairy lights instead, before we move on.

The other thing that’s odd, is these dahlias. When I bought them they were in bud and soon flowered. Then nothing. Nada. All summer. As the weather started to turn they forced a few more flowers, and then dormant again. They didn’t exactly bring colour to our patio, well apart from green, and as you know green isn’t something I’m short of.

The cyclamen and the black grass continue to be a good combination. A subtle combination, and one that’s probably not enhanced by the dried leaves, or weeds. But it’s real at least.

The gerbera has been the star this year. It’s flowered, and flowered, and flowered. Actually I probably should check on it…

And the lettuce. This is still the first sowing, I didn’t need to do a repeat sowing as we were still eating this well into the month. I suspect it’s a bit bitter now, but it was well worth growing. Much better than the plastic bags of salad from the supermarket. Though I know which lettuce I want to grow next year, I’m very much a mild lettuce kind of girl, these are mostly peppery, which MOH is a fan of.

My challenge for the weekend will be to get out into the garden and actually take some pictures so I can do an October version of this post, hopefully as late in the month as this one!

How’s your garden been?

Reflecting on my week #101

Sometimes it’s the little things, isn’t it? When someone notices, when they say thanks, when their actions give you that warm fuzzy feeling. That happened today, and was accompanied by this card and a box of chocolates too. And it couldn’t have been more timely, or infact unexpected, but nonetheless welcomed.

More than ever I feel these updates are about how busy I am, how much more there is to do and how I’m not doing everything I set out to do. They’re not fun to write, let alone read, but they are real life. This past week though there’s been an impromptu pub session with a good old chinwag, some pizza and quite a lot of red wine, and very good it was too.

Usually Friday evenings are my digital detox night. This week that stretched through most of Saturday too. With a couple of rugby games to watch out came my crochet, to make some more progress on the shell border. I got there in the end, but there was a few false starts and some unraveling along the way.

There’s still more to do, including a border of squares (which the patten currently has me stumped at) and then some more rounds to finish, so it’ll be a while yet. It’s coming along nicely, and once I’ve cracked the next set of squares, I’m hoping there’ll be no stopping me.

As the temperatures are dropping, i’ve already got my next project lined up. Not being much of one for coats, it’s a snuggly poncho, though i might adapt a pattern, if I’m feeling brave. It’s worked in a single piece, so the bonus is that it’ll keep me warm as I go as well as it’s intended use.

This weekend just gone we were out for lunch celebrating my MILs birthday. The Sunday lunch was good, so was the company, but it was just a little bit loud. Which makes me feel about 105, but being able to have a conversation across a table of five would have been handy. Though I’ll admit at times being cocooned in my own world has its appeal too.

Another short update from me, but at least there’s an update. Of sorts.

I’ve a day off on Friday and already the list of things I want to tackle will take me into the middle of next week, and that’s before I realised I’m seriously behind with my Christmas shopping (sorry to mention the C-word). And before you say I’m not, I am. This year our family Christmas is on 30 November, a date when usually I’m just starting my shopping.

Wish me luck. Or worry for the presents my family are likely to receive…