Three Good Days

As anyone with a chronic illness will testify, good days are hard to come by; like trains they are often nowhere in sight and instead you must take the crappy alternative bus service and make do with getting through the journey of the day. A lot of the time, it can even be a little scary to feel 'good' as you just keep wondering when it's going to be pulled from under you and in my case, a good day is often followed by many bad ones.

Well, let's just look at Saturday and Sunday forget Monday (yesterday, it sucked) and move straight onto today.

OK how you look at a good day may differ from mine. On Saturday I went outside! That was a great thing in itself -  I was able to go to IKEA, that haven of flat-pack and very clever ideas and then on to my favourite cafe/art gallery.

On Sunday afternoon and early evening I spent the day working in the back garden with my hubby. In fact I was in the hubby's shed, potting up more colourful flowers, re-potting a bit of mint that I saved and is growing really well and tidying a little, haha.

My tiered garden and some details of flowers in bloom below
That space at the bottom is for the mixed leaves mix I have germinating

Andrew cut back the hedges and wall coverage - it's looking good out there :) The secret Japanese tea room is beautifully sheltered and very calming.

Today I read and I cleaned. I got the downstairs vacuumed and tidied and I scrubbed my kitchen floor and cleaned the surfaces and did washing (it's drying on the line) and dishes and played with Toby. And I felt able to think straight enough to write this blog, it's a miracle! 😀

Hugs
Carrie xx

More Bank Holiday Work

Looking back at my photos is seriously the only way I can remember what on earth happened just under a week ago! I have the worst memory out there, oh dear, I must be getting old....*sigh*

So here's what happened on the Sunday 13th July- a revelation to me just as much as it will be for you, haha. Though it must be said, it wasn't terribly exciting.

We visited a large DIY warehouse and bought another drip hose for the thirsty tea garden - it's got a beautiful birch tree, christmas box, bamboo and wisteria in it so it really loves to drink up the H2O :) The camellia of course prefers rainwater. I also got some really snazzy gardening gloves for only £3, they seemed to be out of fashion if you can get your head around that concept; I say this as there were newer, different patterned ones there for nearly twice the price. Wow, seems pink is not the colour to be gardening in! Haha, ridiculous.

Before going round to visit Mamma G we picked her out lettuce, peas, and the first beetroots. Andrew also quickly planted out the dwarf french beans and I sort of tackled 14b (more later on that). Good grief, we still haven't made our minds up about this plot; should we keep it or let it go??

I only had my half dead phone with me on this day so sadly these 2 photos is all you get....

Tuesday 15th July
We took Monday off from the Lottie but boy did we make it up on the Tuesday; we were there all day!
First I shall show you Andrew's work cos I'm nice like that and 24a is definitely less frightening to look at :)

* The cornflowers were taking over and making the whole plot look messy - it's what you see as you look at the plot and naturally allow your eye to flow down to the pergola. So they were all strung up and really look beautiful now on mass, not flopping all over the place.

* The 2 apple trees were also tied up to wire and the espalier training has begun. The bamboo canes are there to help start and keep those branches we want to grow up and out in place. I am always amazed at gardeners' ability to do this, it looks so good and gets air and sunlight around those fruit producing stems = happy plants and happy viewer.

* Lastly Andrew planted up the rest of the leeks into the now empty potatoes bed :) Leeks are super duper important to us, due to my intolerance to onions, as you'll remember.

My work on 14b? I'll share it soon..
Your Carrie xx

Our urban oasis

Yesterday was one of my worse mental health days for a very long time. It's left me exhausted and upset and truly looking back I can't believe I got through it - but I did, just. So I am very thankful that this is a long weekend and hopefully there will be plenty of fun to be had and yesterday can be forgotten...

I started putting these photos together before the world collapsed around my ears and to honour myself I am going to continue with the post I had planned....

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So, I'm being a little improper and boastful here and am going to talk about our wonderful hideaway of a back garden. Over the last fortnight it has really started to show what it's capable of and we are so looking forward to more to come as the summer progresses. It is truly becoming what we envisioned - a secret, calm hideaway filled with lush greens and soothing to the soul.

• A fortnight ago we were saying our goodbyes to the tulips and I felt rather sad...

* awww look at them, they did so well and made me smile every morning
* hey, it's Maggie. I would imagine she's angry at me as it looks as though she's just had a bath
* the Virginia Creeper is taking off
* I love ivy!! there was lots at our wedding but this is getting out of hand... plus happy Camelia :)

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• A week ago we sat out for the first time with a glass of wine after a little pottering...

* Awww what a cute Maggie pic - she was feeling good in the sun
* One of those joyous moments that makes gardening worth it
* Just love the way wisteria stems wrap around themselves so tightly
* Ivy has mostly gone, replaced by Buddha

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• Yesterday morning the weather was simply too glorious not to take photos (even without any hayfever tablets!), though going right round to the tea garden was a bit much.. 

* Left side as you step out - the beech hedge looks so happy and healthy now, the tulips are gone, water feature cleaned out and working again and look at that Virginia creeper!
* Japanese maple looks it's best so far, our lovely big stepping stones, the Virginia creeper need it's wires lengthened, hoorah!

* the right hand side of the garden and the Norway Maple is such a stunning colour, the box hedges growing and getting fluffy and the bamboo doing great bar one or two branches
* the star jasmine is truly starting to take over and is so healthy (we want it to be vigorous at it has a big blank wall to cover), it reminds me of our honeymoon

Hugs and love; today shall be better.

Carrie 

xxx

The back garden starts to explode :)

Sometimes it takes you to go away for a while to really appreciate how much your garden grows in a week, especially in Spring. If you were to watch it everyday, waiting impatiently, these changes wouldn't be so noticeable.

Behold the back garden, beginning to explode into life...

Highlighted plants are links to the RHS website page of the variety we have..

* Oh my, I think I have found 'my' tulip! This raspberry and cream one (ahh! can't think of the name), on mass just makes me smile very big indeed - next year I want another 5 pots ;)
* The stained glass window will be covered soon by the weedy looking Virginia Creeper - it only went in last year and already it's rampant :)
* The Acer didn't take well to the house move way back when but in the last year it has really come into it's own - never seen it look so happy.
* Christmas box has also responded well to the clippings it had last year and has filled out nicely = happy times
*The beech hedge, though all 5 plants are growing at very different rates, is happy and since yesterday (when I took this photos) it's even greener!!

* So many little box balls and a very happy Star Jasmine, with a Japanese Maple in the center
* Lots of seedlings in the cold frame
* The beautiful paper bark Birch and lovely bamboo, Wisteria growing around pergola
* Camellia - first flower of the year :) We got a new water butt just with this baby in mind as they can only take rain water.

* Just look how far we've come (and by that I mean Andrew, as he built the walls, the raised platform and pergola, the fountain, the cold frame and the chairs. Plus he planted everything whilst I supervised and photographed *blush*

Hugs and Love
Carrie

Big Garden Birdwatch - Live!

*a tongue in cheek, fun, survey write up*

We are bird lovers in this household :) Though they may steal some of our finest produce at the lottie and always got the strawberries before us (we don't grow them anymore) we have ample feeders and trees/bushes for cover in our garden, not forgetting the little fountain for water and a bath at times.

Today, as we have for the last 7 years, we are partaking in the RSPBs Big Garden Birdwatch and trying to count the number of the various species that visit our back garden for a little something to nibble on. The time period is one whole hour and you have joined us after a hearty breakfast, Maggie out of the way, the seed, fat balls and peanuts topped up and coffee to hand....

It has been 11 mins and after a feeding frenzy from the Sparrows and Tits, it has started pour down which is affecting visibility. Mamma G has just arrived and is now distracting us at the perfect moment - nothing is happening out there - plus we now have boiled cake, sausage rolls, sweet mince pies and wheaten. Mamma did her survey yesterday and it's funny to see both her and Andrew getting so excited at the great tits coming to see the egg seed feeder.

Our Robin is here - 28 mins late! He's here everyday all day but seems to be shy today...must be because I have my camera, birds and I don't get on.

Oh the rain has stopped and the sun is shining...umm shining right in my eyes and making it almost impossible to see the laptop screen - plus I'm in my dressing gown, it's white and reflecting - arrgh. We've decided to take a break for 15 mins anyway as Mamma has has her arm twisted and is going to have a cuppa with us :) I hope taking a break isn't against the rules!

Maggie has sneaked in and the birds don't even care in the slightest - I guess she isn't seen as a threat, haha.

Blackbird - oh goodness how I love that gorgeous yellow break in contrast to the black; they love the seed feeder that is low in the garden hidden behind the Winter Box. There's only ever one at a time in the garden, I wonder if that's normal.

Sadly we are at the end of the hour and no really exciting finds, no peregrine falcon (a pair live nearby) and no pheasants (from the big estate) nor did we have a visit from the long tailed tits, they will probably come now, such is our luck.

So, Andrew is now filling in the online form - the RSPB is awesome and fully embraces technology so there are no goodly reasons not to take part! They are on twitter @Natures_Voice and this is the birdwatch webpage.. https://www.rspb.org.uk/birdwatch/

 I shall simply list the results here...

Did you take part, were you one of the 136,000+ people who did (so far)?? Any interesting results?

Hugs and love

Exciting Garden Update

Over the past couple of weekends my hubby, yes my hubby handmade 2 amazing chairs for the back garden. He looked at many photos online and found some simplified instructions but basically he was just awesome and I am so proud. He made them primed them and then, cause he loves me, he let me pick the final colour and buy little cushions.

They're called Adirondack chairs and they're so huge and armchair like, perfect for the day and with a blanket in the evenings. He is also going to make me a curved footstool and a wee table - eek! Brilliant.

So while I was taking photos of them to blatantly show off to the world, I thought I would document how the garden has taken a real growth spurt and is really starting to become the place we hoped for. Maggie helped - any photo she's in is her ' taking you on the tour' on the rest, well she was standing at my feet.

The beech hedging is beginning to settle and grow well but it's the Christmas box below that is really surprising me, especially after it was given a little trim. Finally the bare bones of the garden are showing signs of vigour and in the end this will completely mask the bins and storage unit behind it :)

Could not be happier at the rate the Boston ivy is growing, everyday one can see a change and now there are tension wires up it's starting to go in all directions :D 

The stained glass window with mirror behind is an absolute triumph if you ask me - I adore it.

The slate plaque there says 'tea-ism' and is just a geeky (and sweet way) of saying the tea garden is this way..

 The tea garden; a raised platform completely enclosed and private with lots of verdant greens and a pergola roof which one day will be covered in that very healthy Wisteria - heaven. At night we also light the Chimenea and get the candles out

Snippets of the rest of the garden with that Wisteria, more bright red in the form of Geraniums, the hedgehog on my cushions, delightful Jasmine buds, Acer, bronze Maple (A. will kill me for not remembering it's name) the evidence of our new outside tap (hurrah) and my favourite - the washing which recently has been drying within minutes :) 

 Hope you enjoyed the tour - now to get out there and enjoy it whilst sewing and chatting with my hubby (public holiday here today so he's off - yay!!) Maggie wishes you a very happy weekend to come xx

Namaste

P.S. Thank you so much for all the comments, emails and tweets that I have recently been receiving - you dear readers make my heart glow xx

Sunshine out the Back :)

It's very close to being unbearably warm outside today - I can't believe I'm writing that but it's true. Maggie won't even stay out for long and she is a sun worshipper, always finding the best spots and laying out full length. Today she has been inside more than me and only sticks to the shadows unless she has 'needs' ie. 'toilet needs'.  Thank goodness I cut  her hair last Friday or I fear she would be dead - wearing a fur coat in summer just ain't right, and neither is eating some of the seedlings (naughty!) or drinking water from the fountain out there but hey, she is a free and wild little spirit..

I'm too hot to think of words to say , here are my photos - yep, now you know how to shut me up!  :)

 This is the view of the back that I get sitting here typing this now :)

 The cold frame with loads of babies all doing well, apart from maybe the mizuna lettuce there on the right which has bolted, oops!

Our new tree; it's a red leafed Norway Maple and the leaves are lovely and soft and floaty. Sadly the Cherry tree that was there wasn't very happy and despite Andrew's best medical care - it died :(

I love this view with the fountain all naturally stinky now and all those pebbles from different happy days out. Surprisingly the Acer is doing really well at the moment, though now I've said that it will probably drop all it's leaves just to spite me, it does that. On the back wall we now have a Boston Ivy that seems pretty happy - we want it to grow like mad and surround the salvaged stained glass window we got recently. Isn't it so pretty?? Andrew put a frame around it and a mirror behind it so the light really shines and look, a little friend sits atop of it ...

 Well here is my happy discovery - Andrew just went outside, saw it and proclaimed loudly 'oh a dead ladybird' and yes, he was right - devastated!!

From here there is a sweet little walk to the tea house which is in full sun and that lovely Birch tree is growing up really quick and providing even more privacy. The large bamboo got a little wind burnt but then we extended the fence upwards and conditions have definitely improved. You can also see the Wisteria is doing really well, I think next year there may be flowers - eeekk! This is where we'll be having dinner tonight again :) Happy days. 

That isn't just a random post on the right, by the way, there is a batoned roof above where I hang lanterns and where the Wisteria will eventually get all tangled around.

So there you go - our back garden in the beautiful Northern Irish sunshine - days like these really do need to be photographed and shared; come the dark, cold winter I know I'll never remember that days like this shall come again!

Namaste

A New Dawn

I've been sick, very sick for the past 2/3 days and the world has seemed like such a dark and dead place to me. I didn't sleep well last night; even though I took my medication, I was awake at 5am and up at 5.30am. Porridge was made as usual and Maggie merely grunted and snuggled farther into her bed - I sat quietly in the living room with the blinds open and watched the blackness fade away...

To watch a sun rise and see a sight such as this as the light grows stronger has done more for me and any shopping trip or great meal has done in a very long time. It was all the more potent as it felt like this beautiful morning was forming just for me. I highly recommend a sunrise for the soul xx

So today doesn't suck :) And I have already showered, washed Maggie, vacuumed the house, researched new furniture, read the news and had coffee with my hubby. I also ventured into the garden and spent some quality time merely looking and feeling the spring penetrate my skin and give me a little serving of 'happy'. See, our seedlings are doing so fine and the sight of them have brought unimagined joy to my heart, joy I haven't dared dream off; all seems okay with the world - I am still ill do not get me wrong, but I feel I can cope today.

What does a new seedling say to you?
To me  is shouts, it yells HOPE! Joy, optimism,  positive thoughts of the future,  picnics, chasing Maggie round the garden, eating food so fresh it's still warm from the sun, plates full of colour and a sense of being grounded and in touch with what actually matters in life.

I have so many photos of our new seedlings but I am so fortunate to have my best friend coming round to the house for coffee and a good old chin wag; I'll show them all tomorrow with their proper names xxx

And, with apologies to Ms Nina Simone -

Birds flying high you know how I feel

Sun in the sky you know how I feel

Seedlings growin' strong you know how  I feel....

It's a new dawn

It's a new day

It's a new life

For me

And I'm feeling good

Namasté

It's not January anymore

Yes!! Today saw the start of the year (January is a bad word in my mind - I try to ignore it with all my might) February is here my friends and I can barely stand the joy. It's only a wee month and then bam! it's March etc...

For this auspicious occasion I went out into the garden, simply desperate to find springy-ness and hope for the year to perk me up. Here is what I saw....

So happy the Beech hedge is filling out and the box hedge is smelling fabulous and looking so healthy :)

 Yes! Big, fat, juicy tulip bulbs are popping through all over the place :)

 AIliums and lots of tete-a-tete bulbs have poked through and are looking super :)

 See? more!!! ;) Plus the Jasmine is happy and grew so much last year - I have happy tingly feelings :)

 Still the snowdrops keep coming; so delicate and so very white they glow :)

And the winter flowering cherry has been in bud for ever, I love it but never more so with the blue sky behind it -  blue sky is the bestest thing ever :)

I am smiling a lot today as you may have noticed and the weather looks okay for tomorrow too = Allotment Time!! Happy Days :)

Love and hugs and Happy February to you :)