Three day weekend - thanks St Patrick (pt1)

Saturday 15th March -

We visited Mamma G and Maggie got a cuddle and kisses. Those are her daffs too and look at that sky = gardening weather!

Then we went and got a few bits and bobs, such as these new flowers for 14b (and much more than this photo shows) and a new kettle for the shed - hurrah!! Hot drinks are back :) Now we can warm ourselves up after facing the N. Irish winds - bbbrrr.

* I strongly believe in buying flowers and even some vegetable seeds in these discount shops. Not everything has to come from a great nursery or a named supplier. We regularly get things for next to nothing and they turn out to be just as good. If you aren't looking for a certain type - I say go cheap and you may be very surprised. For example our spuds last year came from a nursery and some from a pound shop, different types but both extremely abundant when harvest time came.

Look how happy Maggie is and how shiny our new wee kettle is :) The sky was blue but there's usually a nip in the air, hence the jumper and need for tea. Earl Gray for Andrew and Three Mint tea for me...you are always welcome by the way and sometimes we even do coffee, plus you'll always find a biscuit or two :)

Okay, ready to go. These are the weekend's 'Before' photos. The 24a one will not shock anyone but I have until now, resisted showing you the unbearable shame of 14b. Maybe I should explain? Blush! Last year we decided were going to give up this plot and just sort of forgot about it, thinking we shouldn't waste anymore time there. The plots around it are so terribly neglected that the weeds from them had invaded ours and simply - we were miserable. But, during the winter we had ideas flowing and not enough room in one half plot to accommodate them, so.... It's an ugly duckling ready to bloom :)

Andrew kept going on 24a, getting rid of the last of the chard and mooli which had gone over and mulching everywhere liberally with horse manure. There were a great deal of times that I could have sworn that he was just standing there, doing nought, but I am assured in my heart that he was planning, always planning ;) Haha. 

Though it is true.... Had there been anyone else down there they may have thought he was a slave driver, but there wasn't, not a one in our field and the others looked empty too, to be frank. Kind of makes you mad...

Yes! I tackled and sort of conquered/ made a dent in 14b; got rid of the dead raspberry canes and I honestly don't know how many massive thistles and dandelion plants, not to mention the grass that had conquered the beds. Is there much better than getting the whole root of a weed out in one swift movement? :)

I did enough work to get really excited about and even lament home time; though I was exhausted and sleeping standing up. It's been a long time since I felt that strongly about the place and how we (Nature and I) were nurturing one another. I felt such love for my plots, my wee pieces (literally) of Eden.

The Allotment Gardens as a whole are a damnable shame and to my eyes, a failure. Poor infrastructure, lack of commitment, still poor access and a real need for strong leadership and rule reinforcement! I could rant for days but I shan't, instead here are the 'After' photos for Day 1 - I believe Maggie was quite happy with our progress :)

Hugs and love
LOADS more to come :)
Your

Carrie x

Our Shed Makeover pt1

Oh my the weather!! If you haven't already suffocated and frozen under the snow, then I guess you are like us and are just swimming along the streets and enjoying the glorious mud :) Yay!!  Either way I am sure the vast majority of you are feeling the low of not being able to do the gardening - goodness we can't even dig the soil here; getting to the plot from the car park is scary and exhausting enough, then the spade just gets sucked down into the depths of the earth by the 'quicksoil' (like quicksand but not really) and then you just want to cry but it's too cold and the tears freeze in your eyes and now you can't see, ho hum :( You become your very own plot Scarecrow.....

So here are some catch up photos of the plot from the last time I actually did any work and from the day when Andrew took me down to see his hard work inside in the shed.

The 29th of December - Andrew decided to rip off the big collapsible bench from the front of the shed and as it turns out, he did it just in time! The wood below was beginning to rot! This led to a furious conversation where we shared loads of ideas we had been playing with in our noggins and ultimately it was decided to turn the shed into a cosy hideaway.  Just like the Pinterest board I have been creating for ages now :D

First we needed to protect what we had so it was off to get paint and filler we went.... (all this took probably as long as it has taken to write it down).

You may like to see just how happy painting a shed can make a person - oh yes, just get some music on in those headphones and groove my friend - dance like no one is watching and what not. I also think it is highly important to choose a colour that complements your nail varnish and if possible, one that is the same colour as your handbag, lol. (Seriously we only noticed that it was exactly the same as my bag when we were leaving).

Ohhhh, look a  before and after type photo - really I want to get the rest painted but painting in the rain and gale force winds is not a good idea (so I hear), especially when the paint is water based.

During this day and the following when I was extremely ill with man flu/ the end of the real flu, Andrew was down there alone cleaning out the shed and then inside our shed here at the house being very manly with wood and power tools :) He built the basis of the best cosy shed interior ever!! The first photo in the following series was mind blowing but then it got better - eeek!!

So much stuff was able to go to the dump, lots came up here to the house where it will actually be used and the rest has been (very cleverly) hidden away in some super amazing storage. Yes everything we need is still in there yet there is now room for a person to stand, to sit, to lie down, have friends with them AND a dog. Basically it's a party shed, hahaha. Before hand it was either myself or Andrew got to stand in the shed out of the rain whilst holding Maggie.

It's just too ingenious to even explain properly but basically:
1) there is a huge storage bin on wheels with most of our stuff in it (including the lawn mower),
2) it has a little shelf above it,
3) then there's a fab higher shelf which also magically slides out (what?!!) and

4) when the box is brought forward the top shelf sits on top and is exactly the same height as the lower shelf = day bed! AWESOME!

Naturally this is a project that will have a few blog post instalments but fear not I shall share the glory of it all with you!!!!

Love and hugs, oh and may your bulbs be poking through and bringing you joy and hope my friends xxxx