From my seat

Ahead of me is the ornate decoration in the Tower Ballroom and many people enjoying an afternoon of dancing to the Wurlitzer organ.

To my right is one of the pillars and ...

to my left I have a view of the stage just after the change over of organs. The Wurlitzer rises up from below the stage.

Behind to my left is some decorative fretwork ...

and behind to my right a tiled picture showing the height of the tower compared to others around the globe. It is of course no where near as high as these other towers ...

being about half the height of the Eiffel Tower.

I changed seats to one in the balcony so my view now is of the whole ballroom floor. The tables around spill out over the floor at the sides.

Well that's my exercise done for the day!

xx

Why?

Why is it that every jam that I try to make never seems to have or reach a setting point?

Why do my nails always split or chip before they reach a suitably long stage?

Why do my kitchen cupboards always get untidy?

Why do the weeds come up the day after I've weeded the garden?

Why does it rain just before I've finished weeding the border?

Why is a banner popping up at the top of the blogs that I'm reading saying that the site is using cookies from Google to personalise ads and analyse traffic? They give me no option to agree - isn't that blackmail?

xx

I can't do it

I can't bake without a mess. Even with a mixer there's always a pile of batter that sticks to the whizzy thing. I do try to spatula it off and spoon it off and knife it off but it just won't come clean without the use of fingers!

There's always a drip or two or three that runs down the sides when spooning it into the tin. How should I get that off so it won't burn in the oven?

The floor gets covered with flour when I open the flour bags. I've never opened a flour bag yet that doesn't spill its contents all over.

It even sticks to the bowl and ends up around the sink. The bowl, the bowl - just won't come clean no matter how much I spoon out. I end up chasing little bits around the sides and the bottom. Oh woe is me. I hate baking - such a mess.

Mind you the the finished item is not so bad.

I didn't use my fingers to rescue the drip!

xx

PS A very warm welcome to my new follower.

A Lidl bit of this

I transplanted some Lidl growing lettuce and lo and behold they've grown into large lettuce which I can eat with my salad.

The tomatoes are now ready to eat ...

and the grapes are plumping out. They won't be ready until September.

But I can eat some poppy peas with my salad. These were a swap for a tub of strawberries. Here's to friends who grow.

It's been warm today - DD's fences have been mended, a load of invasive ivy pulled out, broad beans picked, curry with home grown veg cooked and courgettes ready to gift to friends. I'm going to start another ripple to be used as a cover for patio furniture cushions. All is well.

xx

We're overrun

The trouble with growing your own is that everything has to be picked, sorted and dealt with, which takes a lot of time and effort.

The great thing about growing your own is that everything is fresh, natural, without preservatives (the odd slug here and there) and delicious. Plus the bounty can be shared with friends.

xx

Getting rid of a tea stain

The tea stain was on a large cotton tablecloth and silly me did not soak it immediately when it had been stained. It remained in the linen basket until it was washed in the normal way in the washing machine. Oh no - the tea stain did not come out. Give it another wash! Same result - still stained. Research was duly done on the web and I went for a solution of white vinegar and water to soak away the stain. After the soak it recommended a quick rinse with boiling water. Zilch. The stain remained. It was a stubborn stain. The next course of action was a soaking in bleach and water followed by another wash.

Result! Stain gone - tablecloth lives to see another day.

I've just got to iron it now.

xx

Something new

… to learn and crochet. The 'to learn' part is a crochet stitch called Solomon's Knot.

The crochet part is this lovely little dress.

xx

Flowers and plants

It was a lazy day today but I seem to have got a lot done. Brass sorted, litter picked from front garden and book finished amongst the normal tidy, iron routine. We picked the remaining potatoes and onions from the garden to make way for the leeks.

Here's a selection of DH's 'strange plant' collection. This one has little babies around it.

Here's a shrimp plant complete with shrimps.

This one fires out seeds and has an unusual gherkin like stem.

This one, I think is called mother of millions as the little plantlets scatter everywhere.

These leaves wobble around on their stem.

And this rosette one is just an unusual colour.

I keep picking the sweet peas and they keep filling the house with their scent.

The Sweet Williams are still going strong - just a little shorter and in a smaller vase.

This view is from my afternoon sitting spot. A wall of going over mange tout and a curtain of onions. They make for an unusual green garden screen.

xx

Happy growing.

Strawberries

It's strawberries with every meal at the moment - and with nearly every drink. This very unappetising concoction is spinach, apricot, banana and strawberry.

Yuk and yum at the same time.

xx

I love to go a-wandering

Along the Bloggy feed,

And as I go I love to find

More blogs I want to read!

Val-deri, Val-dera,

Val-deri,

Val-dera-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha

Val-deri, Val-dera,

More blogs I want to read!

For this blog hop I just worked down my Favourite Blog List again and I found some interesting reading out there by looking at the blog lists of others and this time jumping in on words that caught my eye.


From Poppy Patchwork I found Doing it for Ourselves in Wales a blog recounting the stories of a couple seeking self sufficiency. The post I read was entitled 'Hot Stuff'. It just caught my eye. :)

From Shortbread and Ginger I hopped to My Little Red Suitcase. I read quite a few posts here, such lovely pictures but unfortunately I couldn't comment as the comments feature had been disabled.

From the 'ordinary tales' of Our Quiet Life in Suffolk I just had to step off to read all about Sex and the Courgette on the Frugal in Essex blog.

From Daisy Row I spotted Tales from a Happy House, which seemed a lovely name for a blog so I visited. Her post 'Make, Bake, Sew, Grow' aroused my interest.

Our New Life in the Country led me to Project 333 which was all about a capsule wardrobe. I don't think I'm quite there yet. Jumping off to another video from there I investigated the girl's 'summer capsule' and the number of clothes she chose seemed never ending. More research on this project is obviously needed.

xx

PS Which words caught your eye?

Opposite the Kitchen Window - June 2015

There's bread waiting to rise,

strawberries waiting to be washed,

sweet peas waiting to be placed somewhere,

a hat waiting to go on my head (bargain CB find for £1),

fruit placed at eye level so we choose a piece for afters instead of a biscuit,

rice decanted into every empty container,

and rice waiting to be decanted into more containers as they become free. When the big bags of Basmati arrive at Lidl I always buy because it has a long shelf life and saves me a few pennies.

Bananas hang up out of the way of the other fruit.

These Sweet William are by the kitchen window and are nothing to do with the title of the post. I like Sweet William so I took a picture. Breath in!

xx

Pop

pop, pops of colour around the garden from these beautiful poppies.

Doubles and singles,

pinks, reds and yellows.

large and small,

short lasting but popping by daily.

I must stop just looking at the garden and start weeding!

xx