Garden Room Tour

 The weather of late has been quite grim, with endless rain and low temperatures.  However, we have had a slight improvement of late and whilst the temperatures are still low for this time of year the rain has slowed and the sun has showed her face.  The grass is in need of a good cut, we are having to use the strimmer as it is so long.  The mower will have its work cut out.

The garden room is in need of a good sort out too, with some plants in need of planting on.  Sadly some seeds not even started as yet. What a difference the weather makes to mood as we make our plans this morning with so much more enthusiasm.  Let me take you on a little tour of the garden room, I will warn you in advance it is a photo heavy post.

Not as much as usual going but we have decided to focus on the positive not the negative.  The tyres we use for beds are doing well.  Let me take you on another tour.

The mint is prolific and needs to be curtailed, it has spread beyond the tyre and needs to be stopped before it takes over.  I have several bunches hanging in the kitchen to dry, as you can imagine it smells beautiful.  The tyres need a good weeding but we are going to focus on the grass for now, slow but steady.

In other news, it should have been freedom day in England today but due to rise in numbers and a new variant of Covid this has now been delayed.  The vaccine programme is doing so well both in Scotland and in England, it is hoped that this will help and have a positive effect.

I will close for now and thank each and everyone of you for your visit and as always for your uplifting comments.  I need to rush and get ready for my aerobics class which has now started up again.  It is so nice to chat and see other people.  A touch of normality beginning to return to our lives, which has been a long time coming.  Take care.

See you soon.

The Beauty Of A Rainbow

 Time has flown by once again.  Our little cottage is now back to normal, clean and tidy after the departure of our visitors.  It is so quiet, so the radio has been on quite loud for a couple of days to compensate.  All the linen for the beds and towels have been washed, dried and ironed, all ready for our next lot of visitors.  I have all kept myself busy in the kitchen batch cooking for the freezer.  I have also made a start on drying out some of the herbs ready for Winter stews and casseroles.  We have had an amazing crop of rhubarb this year, so I have cooked several batches ready for crumbles later in the year.  The garden is a little slower than usual in producing salad crops, I think that may have been the awful weather we had in May.  We have had several days of sun and it is starting to look a lot better, so I am hopeful for a good crop.

We did have a wander around the garden centre when we did our trip to town last week.  We came back with a beautiful lavender plant, which is smelling divine already.  I do miss the lavender we had in our old garden so it is nice to have it back in our herb garden.

I am blessed with a wonderful son in law who is good with technology so both the computer and my phone is now back up and running.  I am now having problems with my camera and downloading photos, I am sure I will work it out eventually.  There have been so many updates of late it is hard to keep up with it all.

  The doorstep blessings project has come to an end as we start to emerge out of this lockdown and try to get our lives back on track into a semblance of normality.  I feel honoured to have been part of the project and know that it gave such a lot of pleasure to so many.  It gave me something to do and kept me busy so I am thankful.  I am now moving on to making a start for Christmas.  I have made a list which changes as I gather my thoughts or find a new pattern but it is almost firm now so I intend to start gathering the materials together for each project and making a start. 

I will leave you with a beautiful photo of a rainbow from last week.  We are blessed with living in a beautiful part of the world but sometimes we don't always take the time to appreciate the beauty.

As always I thank you for your visit to my humble blog and thank you for your comments on my last post.  I found it really interesting to learn about the restrictions in your areas.  Vaccination seems to be the answer and thankfully it does seem to still work against the different variants at least for now.  We were finally allowed to sing at Church last Sunday, but I must admit it did seem strange singing with a mask on.  Hope all is well with you and that life is good.

See you soon.

Adventures With Family

 What a wonderful week we have had, even the weather was amazing.  Weather conditions were perfect for our adventures around our little Island.  It was a joy to see our daughter and her little family.  We were quite taken aback how much those boys had grown.  Every moment they were here, we filled with fun and laughter, creating so many memories for us all to treasure until we see each other again.

The excitement started long before they arrived with me in the kitchen preparing for there arrival with food.  

Broth.

Mixed seed bread, steak and vegetable pie, cheese and tomato quiche.

Crumble top mince pies, scones, sausage rolls.

Jelly and trifles were also made in cups and saucers they looked so nice when we had afternoon tea together.

Carrot cake and lemon drizzle cake.  The beds were made up and all our favourite games were laid ready for us to play.

Our first adventure was to the cove behind our cottage.

I am not sure what the cove is officially called, but we found a dead bird amongst the rocks so it very quickly became dead bird cove.  It is a beautiful cove and a great place for the boys to run around and enjoy the great space, as we were the only ones there.  It is a mixture of rocks and sand making it a haven for a mixture of birds, we were careful to keep our distance and not disturb them.

You cannot visit the Island and not visit the Callanish Stones.  It is one of the boys favourite places to visit.  It was a lovely drive over to the Westside, taking in all the beauty and some great sights, a shieling and the famous whale bone arch.  The blackhouse at Arnol was shut, I am not sure if this was due to Covid or not as we were at level 1 and going into 0 this weekend.  Visitors to the Island are asked to take a test prior to visiting but I am not sure this is policed or even how it could be.  It is such a good feeling to have a semblance of normality back and the greatest joy of all to see family that are so important to us.

We didn't park in the visitors car park as Gerard was not up to walking up the hill so we drove through the village and entered from the other end.  This does mean that the visitors centre cannot be visited or indeed the restaurant but it was not open anyway.

The surrounding views and loch is also a joy to see so well worth a visit.  We made a stop at the fudge stall in the village, which was delicious and then followed our tracks back to the beach.

I will close for now but rest assured I will be back with some more of our adventures soon.  Hope all is well with you, I would be most interested to know about the Covid restrictions in your area.  Take care.

See you soon.

All Is Well

Here I am, all is well but I thank you all for your concern.  A few technical issues, hospital appointments on the mainland and a little lethargy have kept me away.  I can only apologise for causing you worry and thank you for your concern.  Gerard had a few health issues which have since been resolved, we are now waiting for all his medications to be adjusted and his biological medication to be changed.

Our beautiful little Island is now back on level one so a semblance of normality is beginning to appear.  It is so nice to tourists back, the camper vans and cyclists.  Long may this last.  We are expecting our first visitors on Saturday, our daughter Victoria and her little family are arriving.  We are so excited and have so many plans, we are hopeful for a improvement in the weather.  April was the worst on record for 25 years, it was miserable.  Consequently, a slow start was made on the garden.  We are hopeful that despite the slow start we will still have edible salad crops and veggies soon.  The rhubarb and several herbs are already been harvested which is a joy.

The chickens continue to do well and we are still enjoying an abundance of eggs.  At the moment I have a stockpile so that I can do a bumper bake and have plenty for our imminent guests.  A quiche is a definite as it is Victoria's favourite, along with sausage rolls.  I have started to make the list and intend to go to town today to do a food shop in readiness.  We made the beds up yesterday, just the outdoor toys to sort out from the outbuilding.  We are hopeful that the beach will be part of our adventures as there is to be a big improvement in the weather and the temperatures.  As long as it is dry I will be happy, we can always wrap up.

Crafting has been big part of my life with several projects achieved.  The doorstep blessings have now come to an end as we started to emerge out of lockdown, I was so happy to be part of this project bringing joy to so many.  It really did make me appreciate what I have got and pulled me out of the doldrums.

I will close for now but rest assured I will be back very soon and normal blogging services will resume shortly.  

See you soon.

Strange Weather

 The weather has been strange to say the least, more snow on Sunday.  We awoke to this...

It did snow several times during the day but thankfully didn't stay around for long.  The stove was lit and it was nice to sit together  and chat about holidays that we have been on and places we would like to see.  Its nice to hold on to a few dreams.

The sewing machine has been out and I have made a few bags for the Church doorstep blessings project.  I used the same pattern but made sure each bag was different fabric, doubling up on the fabric for the handles to give them extra strength.  The perfect shopper for when just a few bits are needed.

I also try to use up some of the scraps of fabric that I save, so once again tissue holders were made.

It is nice to have a few projects on the go and keep myself busy.  I have decided that I am going to start gathering some fabric together over the next few months so that I can make a quilt (using the English paper piecing method) over the Winter months.

The seeds have finally been sown and are on almost every window ledge throughout our cosy cottage.  A little later than usual but that may be a good thing with this strange weather that we are having.  Time will tell.

As always I thank you for your visit and for your uplifting comments, I also thank you for visiting my daughters blog www.thatmumtravellife.com I have left the link again in case you missed it on my last post.  She is hoping that travel restrictions will be lifted soon so that the family can get together and plan some more holidays and adventures.  I am hoping for some better weather so that we can get out and about and explore our little Island once again.  I must add I am looking forward to getting my hair cut.  What are you looking forward to?

See you soon.

Haiku - Japanese Poetry

 The snow disappeared as quickly as it came, several times.  More is forecast for over the weekend but it isn't likely to last long thankfully.  Nothing stops Mother Nature so even this terrible cold snap and the intermittent snow has not stopped the unfurling of the rhubarb and the growth of the mint starting back on its journey.  Daffodils are also starting to show their beautiful trumpets.  It has been a slow start but Spring is beginning  to make an appearance, teasing us with a promise of so much to come.  I have finally made a start on some seeds.  I love this time of year when our little cottage is filled with seed trays on every window surface, giving us hope of some tasty salads for the Summer and dried herbs and sauces for the Winter.

I celebrated my birthday yesterday, such a wonderful day where I was spoilt.  We did manage to go to town and had lunch at the Crown Hotel, it was such a treat to be able to eat out and enjoy food that I had not had to cook.  We had a family gathering via the computer and once again I am so thankful for this amazing technology.  I was also blessed with lots of cards and gifts and was thoroughly spoilt.  I just love the handmade cards the Grandchildren make and the progress they have made each year with there drawing and writing skills.

Gerard and I have had so much with Haiku, a form of Japanese poetry consisting of 3 short lines that do not rhyme using 5/7/5 syllables, 17 syllables in total.  When we first started this little adventure together we had remembered it wrong and was writing the poem using 5/7/5 words not syllables.  I had started to record some of them and had fun with watercolours.  

An artist I am not but I have enjoyed the process.  These are some of the poems written wrongly using the word format not syllables but I decided to keep them as they are part of the journey.  The fun is in the journey taken and not necessarily the end result.  It has been an unusual adventure, playing with words but one that I have enjoyed and will continue.

My daughter has just started a blog recording some of her travels, it does make for a good read.  Here is the link should you want to visit www.thatmumtravellife.com let her know I sent you.  She calls herself Tor but she will always be Victoria to us.  Its a nice way to record some of the amazing days out they have with those gorgeous boys and is an honest review regarding finances too.

Hope all is well with you and that you are safe, well and enjoying life.  There are times when this pandemic and the restrictions imposed have been tedious to say the least but the separation from family has been so hard to bear.  I yearn to be able to plan a trip to catch up with them all and whilst I am so thankful for technology and the joys its brings its not quite the same as seeing them in person.  The sad death of Prince Philip and the wonderful tributes made to him highlighted how short our lives are.  Such a special man that will not get  the state funeral that he so richly deserves.  We need to remember to make every minute count and enjoy what we have making as many memories as we can along the way.

See you soon.

Catching Up

 Oh my word I hadn't realised that it had been so long since my last post.  Nothing wrong, just life taking over.  I have been keeping myself busy, mainly in the craft room. Winding yarn...

Having fun making pom poms...

Folding and cutting strips of fabric...

Browsing and enjoying craft books/magazines/patterns...

Enjoying the moment and filling my days.

The cottage has had a good Spring clean inside, we are awaiting some better weather before work begins outside.

Easter came and went which we celebrated with good food and the amazing joy of technology enabling us to meet up with family and listen to the Church services.

The weather has been strange to say the least bringing plenty of snow and frigid temperatures.  

We are so thankful for the stove as a heat source, it is a joy to sit in front of a blazing fire watching the flames flicker.  

Hope all is well with you.  I have some parcels to address and take to the post office and a few deliveries to make and then I am hopeful that I can sit down to catch up with you all.  As always I am thankful for your visit to my blog and your uplifting comments.  Take care and stay safe.

See you soon.