green

life



is



very



very



green

a corner of my garden

welcome to a corner of my garden, and a journey through time.



August 2009. note the excess of conifers.




September 2009 - no more conifers, now we can see a hedge of rather dead looking hawthorn...... and the grass looks less dead.




same time, view from across the garden.
wondering why there's a big stick in the middle of the lawn?
me too.




January 2010. garden what garden.
I'm impressed that the snow is so deep you can no longer tell the garden is on a hill.

February 2010. more of the white stuff.

April 2010. we've thinned out lots of the dead hawthorns, we can now see into the wilderness behind our garden, and the new trees we've planted - a cherry, a plum and a crab apple.

oh and we've dug up a huge swathe of the lawn.

May 2010. the deck moves 8ft to the left.

sounds easy doesn't it.

we thought so too.

we were wrong.

but move it did - eventually!

and then patio flags are laid, and the meccano building can start.

June 2010 - the dug up lawn has become a veggie patch, neatly edged with wood. (edged with wood at the back too to try and prevent the nettle population of the wilderness zone taking up residence amongst the spuds.)

and the final ta-da.

meet Gertie. Gertie the greenhouse.

my birthday present.

I love it.

expect to be bored with photos of tomato plants for the rest of the summer.

365 days of simple joys

I've joined in Joshy and Belles challenge to spend 365 days appreciating the simple joys - the old fashioned simple pleasures, knitting, sewing, baking, sewing and more.



and inspired to be creative I've finally started the quilting on the quilt that I began way back.....



I am seriously beginning to regret that I was soooooooooooooo adventurous in my quilting design. all over stippling would have a been a LOT easier. and quicker.



I've also made a skirt out of a dress I got at a clothes swish event, I never wear skirts so this is a big deal for me!

and today I 'm taking in joy in watering these little lovelies growing in the garden.

anyone wanting to join in should contact Fliss here, or check out the flickr group here

any excuse for cake

when a significant birthday clashes with an England World cup match it is easiest to concede defeat and allow your party to be taken over by husbands intent on a bbq and street party.



and then it is fun to try and make all your desserts red and white in patriotic splendour



and get maybe just a little carried away with cupcake baking

and with great dollops of whipped cream

and to insist that all the girls come dressed as WAG's, and drink Pimms , and get busy stringing up the bunting, and then eating LOTS of cake, and maybe just another piece for luck, oh and to try and keep warm as there is a very chill wind coming in from the North Sea and everyone is freezing.................., and watch the children and the dad's play a crazy game of football in the street and eat far too much food, and realise that milestone birthdays are quite fun after all - any excuse for cake!

inspirational workshop

I went to an inspirational workshop at the weekend, at the Quilt Museum in York.
The tutor was Phillipa Naylor, and she does the most amazing piecing, and quilting. - see above!



This was one of her samples for the free motion quilting we were learning.
mine does NOT look like this, hence there is no photo................
It was a great course though, and I learnt lots, so maybe one day..........




and this morning I found a little time to make some MORE bunting! There maybe a lot of England themed baking this week, as my birthday party has been hijacked by a world cup party, and I have to regain control somehow..............

decorating on a theme

I had to make some more flowery bunting.

sometimes a girl has to do what a girl has to do.

the house is being overrun by decorations of a different theme

decorations which in this house are only truly appreciated by those with a y chromosome.......

my concession was that most of it was bought from Cancer Research UK in aid of the Bobby Moore fund. My reasoning is that if you have to have football stuff then at least it can be doing some good somehow
.

thankfully there are craft elements about the world cup that appeals to a 9 year old boy.

it's even become a geography project.

meanwhile I'm wondering about red and white gingham bunting - patriotic and fabric?

happy birthday Mr Driftwood

11 days till I catch you up...............