Your day (apart from gardening) what took place ? 2025

I waited ages for a quiet moment and then it became busy again. The same by the garden centre.

 

In 80s there was an ad I still think is the best one I've seen. It showed a vase for flowers, and said "When you are 50 you'll be spending your money on s"it like this".

It was an ad for a travel agency (remember them?) catering for people under 35.

Well, I'm 53 and this is Day 2 of my summer holiday.

 

I have done something I haven't even considered during the 18 years on this island.

I left the house for a two night trip without my waterproof jacket. In fact, no jacket, cardi, sweater, hoodie at all- barely some summery rags to cover my modesty.

Rothbury is wonderful, so quiet and beautiful. Lord Armstrong was a great believer in the welfare and education of the poor and lower classes that even the "almshouses" for workers are stunningly beautiful.

He was also a healthily mad engineer, some of his inventions were quite jaw dropping. This is an extendable table IKEA could learn from The early dishwasher and hydroelectricity powered cooking spit turner were fun too, and both for the benefit of the staff




It was very, very hot which was fun as it created the proper holiday feeling, dodging sunny places, eating outside and taking three showers a day.

My only moan was that I let The Child to trick me to take the Hillside walk to see the magnificent views one evening when it allegedly was not so hot (below +26) any more.

The clue was in the name and the description of "wonderful views" should have rung my alarm bells... the ascent was very, very steep and long. The actual walk in the woods once up there was beautiful until we took a wrong turn and ended up (or, rather, down), scrambling a steep mostly dried stream rocks in order to find a passage through the bracken and brambles.

A visit to the famous Cragside was brilliant. Loads and loads of trees and stones, just my place!

I did reveal my Finnish character on the entrance gate though, on buying the overpriced tickets we pulled out The Child's NT volunteer card and asked if it grants free entance. The man cheerily noted "Oh so you are volunteers, of course it's free so please just pass through".

I brightly corrected him to say that only The Child is a NT volunteer so I'd very much like to pay some money to you please





It was so interesting to learn about the connections between this charming place and the familiar sites in Newcastle.

There are some lovely places around here so I'm planning to keep on exploring.

 

We were big kids and rode the Fairbourne express!
70 years after first doing it!

 

Vicky and Jim xx

 

Congratulations Mr and Mrs @shiney !

 

This is lovely, shiney.
Congratulations to both of you. Quite an achievement

 

Congrats @shiney, hope you & Mrs S had/have the loveliest day!

 

Diamond anniversary

I didn't think I was old enough to know anybody married that long!

Congratulations and big hugs to you both

 

Cycle round the Greenock Cut

 

I've been doing a bit of work garden related but had to switch to washing insect screens. I do the window screens mid summer and late fall before storing them but silly me never thought about the garden door ones. They retract so I'm using the excuse out of sight out of.. Well, I sponged a dot from one and the cloth came away filthy.

Now they are done.

 

Odd year for mushrooms, usually there's a flush of penny buns in August, then a second in september. This weekend though the first flush finally happened, hopefully the frosts stay off for long enough so we get another one later in the month. On this day last year we had a frost, the earliest I can remember and it did my beans and squash in.

Got about 5kg or so in 3 hours.