Yawn Yawn Wakey Wakey 2025

The wind is definitely chilly @Goldenlily26, even this much further south. Dry here too but we have a dribbe going on at the mo. A whole 0.5mm expected. Who measures that small amount?

Gentle pottering this morning as I get everything together for patchwork club this afternoon. As well as all the paperwork needed for next week's all day workshop I have to stitch 7 rows of Sashiko style running stitch on a 23cm x 2.2m band of Corsican patchwork. We have 11 of them to join together and bind to make a full bed quilt to auction for charity.

Hope all illnesses and injuries clear up, all travel plans go well and that work and play, indoors or out, prove satisfying.

 

Looks like everyone has gone ashore today, so we explored the ship while it was quiet. It is a big brute! Lovely to see it virtually empty, I think it gets quite chaotic when everyone is partying in the public areas.
The weather is gorgeous, warm and sunny, so we have had both breakfast and lunch sitting outside on the top deck. Very relaxing. Not sure if I can be bothered to go ashore. It a fairly ordinary Norwegian town, and there is a walk through the industrial estate and over a very high and steep bridge to reach it. It looks like its main claim to fame is a long shopping street, but I don’t think I’d be tempted by Norwegian prices. Also usually put off by the number of furs and reindeer skins for sale, so I don’t think I’m missing much.
If I need any exercise, I can take the stairs on the ship! The two glasses of champagne I had with lunch probably means I shouldn’t be allowed out on my own anyway!

 

I love the sound of your trip @Ergates. There’s a new Simon Reeve prog on iPlayer :‘Scandinavia’ which is fantastic. Episode 2 is the Norwegian fjords.

I called in to a GC on my way home so I have some potting and planting to do. Everything so expensive so I’m pleased I’ve done a few flowers from seed this year. I’ve bought my annual pelargoniums as small plugs to save a bit too.

Have a lovely rest of the day all.

 

Good afternoon all!

I'm happy to report that we've had a small thunderstorm. Not a lot of rain, but the first we've had this month, so it'll freshen things up a bit. And the forecast suggests we may get a bit more this evening, which will be great! It'll be the first evening for a long time when I haven't had to water anything.

 

Chilly easterlies here @Goldenlily26 so warm in the sun but otherwise brrrr
Very jealous @Liriodendron , not even a raindrop here although set to change just in time for the BH and school holidays next week

 

Er hum... watering done here.
Another small victory today - two handed typing!!
Going to a school reunion tomorrow and being picked up by a friend from Llandudno. Have planted up a pot with flowers (grown from seed) as a thank you.
We did a P and O Norway cruise in 2001. It was a tiny boat compared to today's sleek liners. We had lovely weather too, @Ergates
We were on Dalsnibba (?) though, on 21 june in the snow.
And we trekked to the Briksdal glacier, now sadly a shadow of its former self.

 

Hello everyone. I agree with all who spoke of chilly winds as that is how it has been here today. I went to the GC first thing and I bought ten 9cm pots containing wildflower plants. I got 2 Corncockle, 2 Vipers bugloss, 2 Corn poppies, 2 Clustered bellflower and 2 Betony. They had all be reduced by 50% so I yielded to temptation.I also got a few other things including one of those litter pickers I have wanted for ages. Watching Mastermind final tonight so good night to you all and just for @Ergates:

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That's interesting @Ladybird4 - any chance of a few photos of your wild flower pots please?
It might help me to identify what I've sown. An awful lot of mine looks just like grass so far.

Enjoy your cruise @Ergates.

 

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Good morning to you all. A lovely sunny start to the day which augurs well. @lizzie27 I will take some pictures of the wildflowers and post them later. Definitely another good day for gardening - I got an email yesterday advising me that three regal pelargonium (least I think they are regal!) I ordered several weeks back are on their way. I knew at the time that they would only be sent out in May so I wasn't unduly bothered by the long wait. This means I'll have to be on watch in case they arrive today. Safe journey home today @Busy-Lizzie and I'll bet you will be excited to see how your French garden has developed whilst you've been away.

 

What a glorious day for gardening. Not tooooo hot in the sun. Still not a drop of rain here. At last the sprayed brambles are beginning to turn up their toes. The tips of each stem has turned pale cream and begun to curl up. Yeah!
I weeded some pots, found what I thought was a pretty weed, then remembered it is in fact a dark pink jasmine, bought in Aldi a couple of years ago as a rooted cutting. It has grown several stems and is covered in flowers. I have a jasmine with a variegated leaf and pale pink flowers but the colour of the flowers of this one is much darker. I also emptied my tulip pots and prepped them ready for the sweetpeas to go in when they are big enough. sowed a packet of Morning Glory to go in with the sweetpeas and runner beans.
I managed to spend almost 3 hours weed killer spraying, then digging over the veg. patch with a hand fork ready for seeds etc.
I had filled a hand spray with weedkiller then thought it wouldn't work, abandonded it for almost a fortnight until I remembered in bed one night, as one does, I hadn't turned the nozzle. Doh! The strength of the jet meant I could reach the brambles between the bank and my neighbour's fence without me going next door and climbing ladders.
I can hardly move this morning but I have to take the car for its MOT so will be able to sit and read while it is being done while I drink a free cup of coffee.
Watering defintely on my job list today, top up the pond and bird baths, also lots more weed killering of bracken and brambles today if possible.
Happy holidays to everyone on their travels.

 

Good morning @Goldenlily26. Fingers crossed that the car sails through its MOT. I have to 'fess up to doing that with sprayers myself!

 

Pictures as promised @lizzie27 None of them look very grasslike but often baby plants bear no resemblance to their adult versions.

 

Thanks @Ladybird4, I have to confess that none of my wildflower seedlings look anything like those! Think I will wait until after it has rained (hopefully tomorrow) and then plant the whole potfulls into the orchard and see what happens.

Just peeked out of the back door to look at the results of our pressure washing activities yesterday and it sure looks like a mess. I will have to brush up all the debris and go over it again with just the jet this time. Part of the problem is there is nowhere for the dirty water to easily drain away.

Hey ho.

 

Good morning all.
I'm at Stansted airport waiting for my flight.

Yes, @Ladybird4 , I'm looking forward to seeing my French garden.

 

Good morning all.

Hope you find everything OK in your garden (and house), @Busy-Lizzie .

It's still hot, but thunder is rumbling again. More rain would be very welcome - yesterday's only penetrated an inch at most. This afternoon I'll be potting on some seedlings which aren't quite big enough to put in the garden yet, and repotting a couple of hydrangeas into bigger pots so I don't have to water them so often, hopefully. But now I'm attempting to repair OH's rucksack, which has a broken zip. Complicated and fiddly...