Yawn Yawn Wakey Wakey 2025

Good afternoon all. Well the fog finally dissipated and the sun broke through. Had a good game of Canasta even though my partner and I lost. Did a little bit of shopping in town before going to cards and it was quite busy. Coming home I was surrounded by creatures from the Black Lagoon as it was end of school day and I could feel my canines elongating at some of the bad behaviour. Luckily I know the route and all small people leave well before we get to my stretch. Phew! Great news about the paintung @Allotment Boy. I am always impressed at how speedily the experts can finish their jobs - which would probably take me a week! Have a fabulous night @Penny_Forthem.

 

Oh well done for your bravery @lizzie27. You must be so pleased that the major scary situation is now over with.

 

Evening everyone. A bright sunny day, but chilly tonight. Very pleased it’s Friday and also that I now have 6 days off!

Well done @lizzie27 - all done for the day now and hopefully you’ll feel less nervous for the next appointment.

I used to love decorating, but now I just think about what muscles I will pull or hurt by bending and stretching!

Curry tonight so I must check on the progress…

Have a cosy evening folks. Anyone looking out for the planet parade?

 

I am @AuntyRach!

 

Signing out for this evening. See you all in the morning. Enjoy your evenings.

​

 

Weary Obxx here after what the French call a nuit blanche - woken up again and again by OH snoring and then just breathng loudly so I decamped to the guest room just before dawn. He then woke me, all Rise and Shine, earlier than necessary to go to Les Sables d'Olonne for the market then lunch, a patchwork exhibition and weekly shop.

Lovely sunny day, tho draughty, wild sea bass on sale in the market and a really tasty lunch. I had lots of fish and seafood and OH - predictable - had fish soup and steak. Home for a little zizz for me so I missed sundown and planets.

I'm not that keen on decorating but I do like the results and not paying a fortune for someone to do it less well than I can. @Ladybird4 the "experts" just have to paint. No messing with pets, family, making tea and meals, answering phones, other domestic distractions.

Rock and roll @lizzie27. Curry tomorrow @AuntyRach. I have chicken breast soaking in yogurt and spices. @Allotment Boy I hope it all dries well.

@Butterfly6 we have herons too and egrets so at night our pond can be very noisy with frogs and toads and mayting shenanigans but quiet by day if I get too close.

 

Great that your dental appointment went well, @lizzie27! And only two weeks to your permanent new smile. Very well done to be so relaxed!
Sorry about your poor nights sleep, @Obelix-Vendée, hope you get a better night tonight.
Sounds like lots of you have got out and about today. Temperature at 9am was 2C , but the sun was out so we went to the seaside. A glorious morning, with a perfect blue sky and the sea looked beautiful. It was very comfortable in the sun, and we walked for over an hour. Didn’t feel cold, but I was wearing a jumper, a heavy knitted cardigan, puffa jacket and scarf, plus sheepskin lined gloves! Apart from that, it was like a summers day!
I didn’t get out early enough tonight, but saw Venus, Jupiter and Mars last night. My eyesight isn’t good enough to make it worth trying to see the smaller planets, and it was a bit too cold to linger outside. Our view is also badly obstructed by trees, so unless anything in the sky is directly overhead or to the west, there are plenty of branches in the way.
No gardening today, but I think my back is grateful for some respite.

 

My tummy hasn't been very happy, but it's getting better. I hadn't had anything much to eat since the chicken soup in the pub at lunchtime yesterday but I had some fish pie tonight and I feel OK.

It has been a lovely sunny day so I have been outside gardening from late morning with rest breaks. Didn't start early because there was a frost. Next thing is to spray the paving with Patio Magic.

We leave here on Tuesday, staying in Eastbourne 2 nights with OH's daughter, then ferry back to France. I wonder how my garden is there.

 

​

 

Pinch and a punch for the first of the month. White rabbits all!
I hope that you had a better night last night @Obelix-Vendée. I know from experience how wearying a poor night's sleep can feel. Sea bass is one of my favourite fishes. My local Tesco used to have a super wet fish section but they closed it down and opened a Japanese section instead. I do love all the sushi types but miss the fish.

 

@Busy-Lizzie, I hope that you shake off the tummy bug before your trip next Tuesday. You must be getting quite excited now about your return to your home in France and seeing how your gardener has looked after things there.

 

We couldn’t see the planets, not a clear enough view due to our location and trees etc, but the stars were fabulous last night (for a city sky). Hard frost this morning but gloriously sunny.

Plan today is a canal walk this morning with our usual coffee stop then I’ll be in the garden again in the afternoon. OH didn’t sleep well last night so we won’t be making an early start and I suspect he will be flagging by this afternoon. I quite like the phrase nuit blanche @Obelix-Vendée and another fan of sea bass here. I don’t cook fish very much at home, not sure why, but always choose it when we are eating out.

Wrestled with our largest waterlily yesterday. We nearly fell in the pond trying to get it out! Then spent a few hours disentangling it from the roots of a bog bean plant. Planting that was a big mistake, rampant as anything and although the foliage is quite pretty hardly any flowers. Anyway a huge mound is now on the compost. I ended dividing the Lily , it was so intertangled, and just kept a quarter piece. I was watching Garden Rescue the other week and Charlie put a bog bean in a titchy pond and was waxing lyrical about how reflections off the water would add light etc Not for long, we both cried.

Plan today is more clearing and general tidying. I also need to think through some plant moves, I want to be more strategic about them and any other changes this year rather than my usual “acting on a whim” approach. How long that will last……

Hope everyone has a good day. Glad the dentistry went well @lizzie27 and that you’re feeling better @Busy-Lizzie. I can’t decide if I would enjoy having two gardens or always feel that I am leaving one as I get on top of it or feel I was missing some of its best moments. I know climate and aspect will play a part, but do you garden them differently?

 

Good Morning all.
Have a lovely weekend.

 

Good morning all.

It was foggy here when I got up but the sun was trying to shine through. It has succeeded.

We've been to the church coffee morning. They didn't make much profit out of me as there was a chocolate tombola and I spent £5 and won 3 packets of chocolate biscuits, a box of mint chocolates and a box of Milk Tray! OH didn't win anything.

Last night when I washed and went to the loo there were gurgling noises and the loo flushing water wasn't quite clear. Same this morning. There is a water tank in the loft. This morning when I turned on the kitchen tap, which is from the mains, there was loads of air in it and it was cloudy. I let it run for a while and it's now clear. I think there must have been work done on the pipe in the road.

I wonder if that could have caused my tummy trouble? OH doesn't drink much tap water, prefers it in tea and coffee and ginger beer, though he has had a bit of a bad tum too.

 

Glad you're feeling better today @Busy-Lizzie and hope Cedric doesn't succumb so you both enjoy your visit to his daughter and the journey south. I expect your garden will be soggy and the soil still cold but spring flowers bursting thru.

We have sun with occasional cloudy bits here but it is very cold with a NE wind making it feel below freezing. The next few days are set to be like this but getting to double figures by late afternoon. I slept very well last night thanks but was so tired I forgot to go and check for planets.

The sea bass was perfect tho Possum gave most of hers to her dad. Thinks she only likes salmon. Curried chicken tonight and gram flour flatbreads as we're off carbs for another 2 weeks.

Well done with the waterlily @Butterfly6. I'd love one here but our pond is natural, deep enough to drown a digger and invaded by bullrushes. I have a gardening friend who has a fancy tropical blue version thet he takes out, wraps up and keeps under his bed for winter.

Have a good weekend all.