Habits of Summer

The summer holidays are here, although living in Scotland the weather has been a bit of a hit or miss.  I think so far, we've had two sunny days in succession with the rest either being overcast or raining with high winds.  Each day I wake up, peek through the blinds in the hope that it's at least dry, so  I can sit outside and admire my garden. It's all very green out there, and there are buds just waiting to burst open with colour.  On the days the sun makes an appearance I sit outside, I crochet, I embroider, have lunch and listen to the birds singing their song...total bliss!  To date I have finished making Jenny's Mandala (crochet piece) and started a new piece; Sophie's Universe.  I was going to buy the cotton yarn pack for this piece but then had a brainwave and decided to be thrifty; using up all the leftover cotton yarn from my Scheepjes Hygge Cal (rainbow and pastel colour wave).

Since starting to write this post my garden has decided to bloom, it appears to have happened very much overnight.  I always start the year thinking, have I sown enough seeds, have I bought enough plug plants only to be surprised by the abundance of colour as July and August come around.  This year I have only planted lettuce, there's no strawberries, carrots, peas or potatoes this year, like previous years.  For one, I couldn't find my grow bags, we looked in the shed, we checked cupboards, under the stairs and even the attic, nothing. Then secondly I was too late off the mark, I saw the seeded potatoes at my local garden centre and didn't think to buy them at the time.  I went back a week later, and they were gone...sigh! The grow bags did eventually turn up after the season had well and truly started, they were tucked behind the sun loungers; I didn't think to look behind them. Silly me.

Illness struck 11 days before the end of term, and I was in a pretty bad way. A month beforehand I had suffered from Strep Throat (which was treated with antibiotics). I initially thought it was the Mumps as the left side of my neck swelled up so much that I couldn't turn my head or tilt it forward or back; it felt as though I had a grapefruit sprouting from it...very alarming. The antibiotics seemed at first to take the Strep infection away, but by the end of the course I still had some symptoms at the back of my throat, and I foolishly didn't return to the doctor. So,  I go to work near the end of term, even though I'm as white as a sheet and taking dizzy spells and after lunch, I nearly keel over. I've only ever fainted once in my life (in my own bedroom), and I couldn't believe it was going to happen a second time, surrounded by little ones. I was walked off the premises by my manager to Paul's car, where he proceeded to give me a lecture about being ill and taking time off.  For five days I drifted in and out of sleep, no energy, no life about me at all and not to sound too dramatic, I remember telling Paul I thought I was going to die.  I later found out that the Strep Throat had gone dormant (never knew this could happen) and the infection had started attacking other areas of my body (kidneys) hence the dizzy spells and feeling of doom.  I returned to work 7 days later, glad to be on the mend. My work colleagues and manager later told me that I hadn't been myself for over a month, that I had been extremely quiet and withdrawn. On my return, one of my work colleagues even commented on how well I looked and how bright the whites of my eyes were!?!?!  Yes, I know! I must have looked truly awful, a walking zombie springs to mind. Lol!

Anyway, end of term left me feeling truly humbled. I love my job, and I do it so I can give little ones a good start in life (something that I was denied as a youngster). I do it in the hope that I'm making a little bit of a difference and adding that little spark of magic that extra adult in their life should bring. I teach and care for them as though they were my own. I want the little ones to know I feel truly privileged to teach them and wish them all the success in the world.

Good Luck little ones, go show the world what you're made of!

xoxo xoxo

Me a Gardener.....no!

  

 

Back in April of this year (during the Easter Holidays to be precise)  I decided to start a blouse pattern, and as I explained I normally just cut straight from the pattern, but in this case I thought lets trace it because in the near future I'm hoping to shed some weight, and this pattern was at the top end of the pricing range, so I thought lets just keep it in all its splendour.   Well during my summer holidays I decided to go to the next level and actually cut out the pattern and then the material.  Well, when I say the material, (the ditsy flower stuff) what I actually mean is I took a bit of a wobble at cutting the fabric for the blouse  and decided to make a toile,  but I didn't  have any muslin to hand so I racked and racked my stash until I came upon the idea that I could just use a new cheap lemon bedsheet.  So I did!  Although I did get quite carried away.  You see, this was only meant to be a test garment to help me iron out any mistakes or quirks of the material, but as you can see by the picture I have attached a peter pan collar, bias binding and ruffle sleeves.  I showed a couple of friends and family the final product and they thought it was stunning. they were also pretty gobsmacked when I told them it was made from a bedsheet.  Yip!  My bedsheet blouse is so lovely, that I might just have to wear it with jeans and flats.

During my summer holidays I also had a surf around on Amazon, which is always a bit of a mistake because inevitably I always end up making a purchase that I don't really need.  Although, I was quite good I only purchased one book, and no, it wasn't a craft book ( it only took me 4 hours to re-organise my book shelves). I did really need the Audrey Hepburn book.  Why? Just because, was my answer to Paul.

As well as sewing and reading, my garden received some love and attention.  My Primroses went to seed after flowering (this was intentional) as I wanted to harvest the seeds so that I could replant them to produce new plants. It's the first time I have ever harvested seeds of any kind and I wasn't quite sure what I was doing and if I was doing it right.  Yet I have little brown things collected in a tub so I will keep you informed as and when I plant them.  My summer holidays had some warm days here and there so I decided to purchase some new plants online, and I was rewarded with free plug plants. Although, I am a bit miffed at the condition of the Geranium plug plants (last picture).  I know that I have come a long way in my gardening skills, but I think they are pushing it by sending plants that are half dead with twig stems. Nevertheless, they are repotted, watered and fed so we will have to see what happens.  And the rose plant that I received for my birthday in April, well I thought I had killed it, the buds where dead, it was covered in greenfly and had dead leaves and twigs everywhere.  So I shoved it outside, sprayed it and then cut all the deadness off, and do you know what? It's super healthy, new leaves and buds sprouting everywhere. This is one plant up to now that I have never been able to keep. So I'm feeling quite proud and smirky right now.  I wonder if I can now call myself a gardener?

xoxoxoxo