I've been doing a little gardening the last couple of days. The builders finally came and removed most of the debris left behind by the roofers. The bathroom in flat 2 is being remodelled and the contractors have splashed something white over the Lily of the Valley and around it, and poured something tan-coloured nearby. As well as leaving ( Read more... )

No, not the cats.

There were roofers here at the end of last week and Saturday. The bay window needed a new roof and has been swathed in bright blue plastic for the last few weeks. Well, the roofers came to replace it and I noticed they were leaving random lengths of wood scattered about the front garden, squashing some of my plants. Now granted, it ( Read more... )

With it being a sunny day, I thought I'd better make a start on tackling the garden, as some things are in severe need of a trim. I'd lost my old secateurs last autumn, otherwise I'd have been out clipping things earlier. I did a search on ebay the other week and found another rachet-action pair that are almost identical to the ones I lost - just ( Read more... )

I decided not to do any Mastermind revision today. Well, I'll still be working on African Capital Cities on and off, but nothing new. I think the idea was to catch up with some things I've been putting off ( Read more... )

Busy day yesterday. Did some gardening in the afternoon, letting the cats having a wander outside while I worked. The goth fern is growing so I potted it up. It arrived as a tiny thing, and rather worryingly appeared to be a normal green fern, with red stems, which would make it Lady In Red, not Ursula's Red, as the label claims it to be. However, ( Read more... )

My study schedule got derailed this afternoon. I paused to look out of the window and realized it was a warm, sunny day, and felt like going outside. I briefly considered going for a walk in the park, then opted to do some gardening instead. The cats came out with me, wandered around and sunbathed ( Read more... )

Went to Asha and Colin's Lone Ranger party last night. Sadly, most of their friends failed to enter into the spirit of the thing and there weren't many costumes. There was a girl of about four riding a hobby horse that played the William Tell Overture and whinnied, which was rather fab. I gave Asha a plush D10 I got from the same place as the plush ( Read more... )

Last night I sorted a pile of catalogues and papers that had built up in the bedroom. Today I've been doing some shopping, so the catalogues can be filed away properly.

I started with the Cats Protection, who send me e-newletters and a yearly catalogue, even though I've not been a member for about four years. I've ordered a pocket diary and a new ( Read more... )

I'm trying to decide what to order from the Radio Times garden catalogue. You get a free Hebe Heartbreak with every purchase, which I want anyway. It's got green leaves edged in white, which turn pink in the winter. Hebes seem to thrive in my garden, so here's hoping ( Read more... )

Two items I put on Freecycle yesterday have both been collected this afternoon.

There was a tree growing in an abandoned tub in the front garden. From matching its leaves to my 'Guide to trees' book, I think it was an alder. It is certainly tough, as it had grown happily into a 5' sapling with no attention from me, not even getting watered, in spite ( Read more... )