whats happened lately.....

message of the day...from the minibar!

Mandy pops over and gets a noseful of my sweatpeas

and a few glasses of wine & giggles

my last day at work so i treat everyone to Krsipy Kremes

and they buy me some pressies and flowers

making strawberry rum ice lollies

manage to spill a fair bit down the counter (of course i licked it!)

ready to take to the outdoor cinema

with Noreen & Michael at Somerset House

me and Judy enjoying drinks and eats...

waiting for the film to begin...

shame the first film was a BIG disappointment ...but the 2nd one of the Chemical Brothers in concert was a great chance to bop...hands in the air, with the crowd

the sun's been out a few times...briefly

Carnival came and went....

i popped to my brother's for a party (and made it home in one piece, slightly worse for wear, on my bike!)

great seeing old friends and making new...Ollie the barman was a big hit!

they're heeeeeere

not sure how many...but one popped up to say hello!

garden update

as the jubilations and celebrations come to an end (apart from the Paralympics!) i finally bought something patriotic.  picked up this fab deckchair on sale in Argos (£17.99) today and spent a few hours in the garden reading in the sun...till it started raining...here we go again.  its good for the flowers tho.....

my Borage plants, grown from seed, are coming along nicely and i picked some of the lovely blue flowers today and popped them in an ice cube tray - apparantly they have a cucumber flavour so should be perfect for gin & tonics later!

couldn't resist a spoonful

and while the rain drizzled i ran inside to whip up a rhubarb and ginger sort of soft crumbly cake, which i'm looking forward to eating after my bowl of mussels. tonight i am rather spoiling myself it seems!

finally using [yet another useless thing i tend to buy] the silver mussel grabber!

weekend update

love my blackboard paint mini-bar

decided to do some more work on the mini-bar i found ....

BEFORE

AFTER

fab new knobs from anthropologie

meanwhile....still waiting for the kittens to arrive....

please have your kittens here (box went in thesummerhouse)

looking slightly fed up...but still growing!

kitty-watch

sweet little black stray....and the new pink bowl i bought her

i have, of late, become rather fond of a little stray black cat that has been turning up in the garden.  i have been feeding her on and off and watched her belly grow as i soon realised she is having kittens.

she gets a little box, lined with some old clothes

which then gets moved into the summerhouse...and another lodger moves in!

 i've progressed from just feeding, to making up a wee box for her to lie in under the summerhouse awning, to moving the box into the summerhouse....and tonight she actually came indoors and let me stroke her.

a bit of rain outside brings her into the flat and, against all reason, she takes up residence under the rocker (ouch!)

 i am totally being suckered in - she is so sweet and tiny and i secretly can't wait for the kittens to arrive (hopefully in the box provided!).  once they are born i will find homes and might even keep one (and mum) and will have to tackle deworming, the fleas and getting her spayed.  being a die hard dog lover this is causing some difficult feelings - i never saw myself as, or wanted to be, a cat-lady (i am quite allergic - but this doesn't stop me wanting to stroke any friendly cat i meet!) - but i just think our friendship is meant to be.  this brilliant illustration by Lizzy Smith sums it up perfectly:

garden update

Rose, pansies & sweat peas straight from the garden

the garden has been enjoing the sun as well...especially my sweat peas....fragrant and beautiful.

found a use for those lovely Pantone candle containers

and just a few shots of the old shed - which I painted last week - next i have to tackle the summerhouse!

painted the old shed (Dulux Seagrass)....and clearing out the summerhouse

decided to add some stripes....

my new pot (wraps round the drainpipe) from Homebase

 meanwhile the little stray (who is pregnant i'm sure now - even though she's only a kitten herself) is getting pretty agile and adventurous...and even ventured up to the backdoor today when i put her supper out - bless her heart. 

can i do it? yes you can!

weekend update

The Vyne

just back from a lovely weekend at my parents house in Hampshire...and the weather [at last] was glorious.  my mum and i spent an afternoon at The Vyne near Basingtstoke - a family home since Tudor times, surrounded by woodland, with a walled garden, a hide and lake filled with geese and swans.

chilling by the lake...

checking out the local bird-life in the hide

lots of walks through the woods

 

 

flowers in the walled garden

the stunning summer house

we spent a morning with a bit of PYO (pick your own) and brought home some delicious strawberries and rhubarb.

PYO strawberries....

 

all rounded off with a lovely dinner at the Cross Keys pub in the nearby village of Upper Chute....the countryside is certainly the place to be on a warm summer's evening.

my lovely mum....enjoying an early evening tipple

view of the neighboring field

beautiful roses and lavender outside the pub

hello moon.

 

then it was off home - saying goodbye to the neighbour's cat Misty aka the bird-slayer...time to go and see how my little stray cat is doing.

Misty - showing some interest in the Olympics (or was it my dinner)