Real or fake

I got these 3 fake amaryllis blooms for my Christmas display, each year I purchase bulbs to grow, I have two this year, just waiting for the growth to start. These silk flowers will ensure my display looks good for the whole month, and I can keep them out in January. 

The frost has killed all my begonias, they were beautiful this summer, the lobelia at each end is fading, I have moved all the cyclamen in their own pots to the front of this huge tub, it can be seen from our sitting room, so adds colour, later I will add my spring pots as they flower. I sold my metal table and chairs in the summer so whilst the contents of this tub are in hibernation, it becomes my display area. 

I did an undercut of my fleabane daises, they were very heavy, I also cut back just a few of the french marigolds, I really did not want them all to self-seed. I am still picking up leaves mainly from the magnolia tree, they are all going into my black bins. It's looking bare now, I do like to see the branches on the trees, the magnolia trunk is a lovely colour

I do love this author, this book was a very different topic and no-one was murdered, it follows a family of a hoarder how their 'home' affects everyone, it was clever and thought provoking. Book 78 read this year.

Another great book, I do love this author, it follows a police woman on the trail of a serial killer, the plot is about her and her family with her work, it's not gruesome and very clever running three narratives, her another police officer and the killer. There is a huge twist in this plot, I never saw coming, I could not put it down. Book 79 read this year. 

George was poorly on Monday night, after a call to 111 he is now taking antibiotics, which means I am at daughters house every morning,  so he can stay in the warm for the school run, she manages the afternoon school run. I'm sure I have their bugs, daughter is unwell, so we are managing the best we can,  I'm really tired leaving the house at 7.45 am is a shock to me, at that time it takes 40 minutes to drive to her house. 

I have the Christmas tree down, I want to put it up with just the lights for a few days, so I can see how Lilly will behave, she loves to climb the magnolia tree outside, all my decorations are glass, we have a wooden floor, so if she climbs and knocks it over I would lose most of them. I intend to decorate the house over the weekend. 

Hubby made a small batch of mince pies, which were lovely, he is going to make sausage rolls this week, both will be made again a couple of times in December, we both enjoy them, plus lemon drizzle cake this week. We had a good sort out of the freezer, and have pulled out this weeks meals, it was long overdue, we will try and eat most of the bits and pieces in there, making space for the turkey. 

Red and white

My cactus in our downstairs bathroom is full of blooms again, I love this plant, the shade of pink is very striking, I feed it twice a year and water it when dry, it loves this sunny window sill. I have another small white blooms plant and a few cuttings in the greenhouse. 

I got a couple new plants, a second white blooms cactus and a white Christmas rose (hellebore), these are for my Christmas greenery display, I will mix a couple fake items here as well, I try and change things around each year.

 I knew I was going to get this book, I follow Charlie Mackesy on Instagram, he is a gentle soul, I have his first book, I love his style, I hope to be able to give both books to Molly in years to come.

This was a strange plot, a lady working for a charity answering calls to help souls struggling with their lives, what type of help, it quickly became about just one man, what had she done to him, the story unfolded with twist. It kept going with additions to the plot, when you think it's done another level is added. Book 76 read this year.

You move to a new house make friends with two unlikely neighbours, you can't work out why they are friends, as always the story unfolds in layers with a back story. I guessed by half way who's backstory it was, then it twisted into an even better plot. Brilliant book. Book 77 read this year.

I have been shopping a couple of time in the week, Wednesday with daughter, she helped me choose the final bits for the children's gifts, I also got a few craft things for them to do the week before Christmas, it should help with their excitement. On Thursday I popped out with hubby we each chose our main gift, he had slippers and me PJ's, not exciting but what we wanted, we agreed we would get one smaller surprise gift for each other, but as yet I have no idea what to get him, we are not doing our stockings this year, they were becoming full of chocolate and sweets, not good for the waist line. 

I have had an email from the printers I use hinting they are giving a big discount for Black Friday, so I have been reading 2023 again, I'm almost half way through, it will be ready to print.

I have found a 10 stitch crochet blanket to make, I will use my double knitting yarn from my stash, it's using Tunisian stitch which I do love and should be a simple task, I have no reason to make it, just to use my time and stash. I have also got a few needle felting things to make, these need to be done by the end of the month, which is plenty of time.

The force of  storm Claudia missed us on Friday, it was cold, wet and windy, nothing too bad, we stayed inside all day, Saturday was blue skies and bright, laundry dried outside, I picked up leaves again, did a bit of housework, nothing exciting, these are dull days. We did walk to our monthly craft market, I got a gift for my brother, its nice to see different things.

Half term

 Mummy made Molly's bed longer, no longer a toddler bed, she had to change the furniture around, it's still a girly room. On Tuesday we all went to Dunelm and Molly chose a new quilt cover with unicorns on, she was very happy. Since September and starting school she has changed so much.

We had Will on a sleepover Tuesday night, he's not wanted to come for a while, we got him a new set of books, we gave him book one and two, he does love to read. We had fish and chips for tea, all treat for Will, and hot chocolate later, he stayed up to watch bake off with us, a later bedtime, its half term.

Mummy came with Molly and George on Wednesday, we stayed inside most of the day, after a late lunch hubby, mummy and Will went to Fort Nelson to see the Walking with Giants, now on show, these were created for the D Day landing celebrations. Will wore his combats, he loves everything military, and loved wondering around them at the lower levels. We had planned for all of us to go, it had rained all day, we knew there would be loads of puddles, so I elected to stay home with Molly and George, in hope we can book a spot before the end of the year, it is very popular.

Hubby made a red velvet cake, which is Will's favourite cake, he uses vegan cream cheese so Molly and George can eat some, this time he left just two layers, normally he makes four, this was better as too much of the filling becomes a bit sickly. The children had two slices each, his cakes never last too long. 

Molly had a sleepover on Wednesday, she was good as always, if slightly confused for her bedtime as the evening became dark much earlier, she sleeps in our room on a small bed, she snuffles whilst asleep, Lilly spent the night on her bed, Will now sleeps downstairs in our spare room again with Lilly for company. I took Molly home at lunchtime. I was back with the children just after teatime so mummy could have a meal with some school mums, so I did the bedtime routines, we have not had George this time, as mummy wants him to settle and be calm going back to school next week. 

We have seen loads of the children and daughter, sadly on one visit daughter came across a car on it's roof, the occupants were out and safe, but Molly saw it and has been asking loads of questions, daughter was shook up, it was just around the corner from where we live. I did drive Molly past the spot and we decided they got back into the car and drove home, because the daddy could fix the car, hopefully that will bring closure to Molly. 

The Traitors has been brilliant TV this series, I was worried because we knew so many people, normally we have no idea who anyone is, the end of the semi final has thrown up a good line of thought, Joe is on to them, and then I wonder about Nick, he said he would align himself with who he thought was traitors and he is very chummy with Joe, is there going to be a twist in the final. Alan has played a  brilliant game, only Joe noticed his behaviour at the last round table, his red face shone out. Also the final of Bake-off is next week, we don't watch much TV, but these two have both been entertaining. 

Busy doing nothing

I struggled with the start of this book, not knowing where the plot was heading, then everything twisted and became interesting, I guessed who done it by the middle of the book, the reveal was given with a quarter of the book left. The final sections of the book were brilliant, with a final twist. This is the second book I have read by this author and he is excellent at misleading in plain sight. Book 74 read this year.

I am reading off my Kindle apt, so another book by the same author, another very different plot, what happens when your husband disappear, how do you cope, what's happened to him, this book follows both of them, definitely not a who done it, not my favourite book of his. Book 75 read this year.

  My soft trainers were looking shabby, they are pale pink and show every mark, I have washed them a few times they are 4 years old, I looked at my favourite site, https://www.clarksoutlet.co.uk/ and found some great prices, I am not keen on big solid trainers, preferring softer styles. As the site implies these are the end of line items, so now was the best time to find lighter weight summer styles, I regularly get Clarks shoes so I know the size I require. I can't remember the last time I paid full price for shoes, £63 for both pairs, free postage and easy to return should you require it, they fit perfectly and I'm happy. 

I have done a small sewing task on my duffle coat ready for this cooler wet weather, when I purchased it back in 2023 I was disappointed with the string and rough wooden toggles, I thought it did not match the quality of the rest of the coat, so finally I removed the string and wooden ones and replaces them, sadly the toggles are plastic, I think they look much better. The first photo is the true navy colour of the coat, I don't know why the second photo is so washed out.

We are back having homemade soups most days for lunch, hubby in the past few weeks made two batches with my tomatoes and one batch with my butternut squash, this week we have minestrone, which doesn't have any homegrown veg in, it is my favourite. We are halfway through a ginger cake, he is going to make a red velvet cake, Will's favourite, and he makes it free from dairy so both George and Molly can eat some, it's half term so we will see them a few days.  

I worked in my area behind the garage, I have emptied the leaf mulch bins, some has gone into bags for use later, both hubby and I have been collecting leaves for my two black bins, I have used the chicken straw bedding from my neighbours hens in both composters, it's dry which is necessary to make the magic work. It was lovely on Saturday, so I spent loads of time outside, Lilly was with me keeping an eye on me, I attached the climbing rose behind the garage to the chicken wire, I would like it to fill out and hide the scruffy sight behind in neighbours garden, I also cut back my climbing rose by the front of the garage, the stems were above the fence height, I have cut them back hard, which hopefully means it will bloom much lower and grow again.

It's so lovely these modern days, we only had two clocks to change from summer time, all the rest automatically change, for years we would find a clock we forgot to change, the last clock to be done is always the one in our car, we don't use it so often these days. Sunday was sunny and bright but cold, the house is warm and snug.

What's new

This was a brilliant book, a good story line which we all can recognise a daughter looking after her mum, then the handy man arrives and sorts everything out, a little too much, what followed was a battle of wits, each getting the upper hand on the other, so many twist even to the final couple of chapters, I could not put it down. Book 73 read this year.

I made 6 cupcakes from my second batch of Christmas cake mix, which we loved and had the idea to make small cakes, I had loads of the ingredients left over, I did not have any glace cherries or mixed peel so it's just mixed fruit, this made 14 cakes, these are slightly overfilled, so I could have made a few more. Both brother and daughter have asked for smaller cakes, so this might be a better solution, too late this year but going forward.

The metallic cupcake cases I have had for ages, and will last for years having 60 of each colour, I got the tiny edible cake decorations, just too fiddly to make, I will leave in cases and cut circular marzipan and fondant icing for the top. Much simpler and should look good, some of these will be gifted to Sharon as a thank you for her eggs.

I could not resist this little decoration for my office, it is just the head and stand, the wool (yarn) I already had, just a bit of fun and not too expensive, I think they started out as a toilet roll holder, this is much nicer, He's called Owain, pronounced Ewan. 

It's been a busy week, all 3 little ones had parents evenings, Will's good as always, he's hard working, willing to learn, well behaved in class, one new to us comment is that Will often chooses to partner another boy who has special needs, and helps him with the task, not really surprising as he is so supportive of George. Molly's as expected was good, interactive throughout the day, she is loving school, George on the other hand has issues, daughter has already had a meeting at school with teacher, 1-to-1 and his support assistant, who is steering the teacher onto a path more suitable for George. He is settling into his day, but he is frustrated and has had a few melt downs in class, which is reflected at home, he gets really upset and lashes out at mummy, he is a strong little boy. Regularly I get video calls to help calm him, I chat to him until he is calm again, these episodes only happen on school nights, he's so calm over the weekend, it is sad to see him behaving like this, he had been calm for much of the last school year.

I visited the dentist this week, I'm still NHS, but more often now any treatments are being recommended to be done privately, as the NHS solution is never now the best, every way they want your money. Hubby had another appointment at hospital, this was solely for checking other things before the cardiology specialist decides the next steps, a few solutions have already been spoken about, hopefully soon decisions can be made, including a medicine review, he takes huge amounts of tablets, me I just take a statin.

I went to my third evening at our village WI, this being my first as a full member, I am enjoying the group and find the ladies most welcoming, this time we provided gifts, which we wrapped and signed loads of Christmas cards for local nursing homes, we also had a lady in chatting about the charity she works for associated with our local hospital, it's the groups chosen charity for this year, they do great work supporting people in hospital.

Christmas cake

 I've used the same cake recipe since the late 70's, the only change I make is to leave out the almonds, thus allowing me to eat some. Here is the 3 main components, mixed fruit and peel soaked overnight in the zest and juice of three oranges, the brown looking sludge is dark brown sugar, butter and eggs, the dry ingredients are plain flour various spices and halved glacé cherries, all stirred together, the flour mixture stops the sticky cherries clumping together. 

Everything is popped into the huge bowl and mixed together ensuring there are no white flour left showing, this makes a huge cake, both hubby and I love Christmas cake. Into a double lined cake tin, with a wet tin wrap on the outside to stop it over cooking, years ago I would have wrapped newspaper around the outside of the tin. Bake for 120ºfor 3 hours. 

Once cooked I turn the cake upside down so the top is flat and start to add brandy, I do not put brandy in the dried fruit soak, I prefer the citrus flavours in the fruit. Cakes need 3 drinks of brandy before they are marzipan and iced, which I leave as late as possible, so the almond paste does not seep to far into the cake. I always trim my slice of cake never eating the edges.

Every year I get this sheet of paper with the recipe typed by me, originally it came from a magazine, I do have a copy on my computer, but it's rewarding to see my messy sheet, things have been spilt on it. I have made notes for cooking times, these have changed over the years as our ovens get better at their job.

The tip of putting the cherries into the flour was given to me by my mum, in senior school there was a baking competition we had to make cherry cake, I followed mum's instructions and won first prize, my cake was the only cake where the cherries did not sink. My prize a huge cookbook, called Colour Cooking by Good Housekeeping, which I still own, sadly it's rarely used, it's falling apart at the seams.

This is my domain, hubby bakes all through the year, but I always make the Christmas cake, infact I make 3, second for daughter and third for brother. Last year I started making mincemeat, which is easy and taste much better, I also want to make puddings, which won't be ate this year, I will do the same as my mum and store them for a year to infuse flavours.

The house smells of Christmas spices, it's warm with the oven on, I cook our big cake first and on the next day the two smaller ones. 

Now to decide how to decorate them, I make all the decorations, daughter and I did a course a few years ago, nothing too fancy. I always use fondant icing, which I purchase ready to roll.

What next

 There was never any doubt to what was happening in this plot, a kidnapped girl and a boyfriend full of guilt and wanting more to be done to find her. It followed two different stories until they meet, where survival is key. Another great plot, a new author to me. Book 72 read this year.

Hubby got another badge for his cushions, I was not convinced it would add to the design, its a cap badge, I could not use the sewing machine, so this is hand stitched, both the material and badge are thick, it was a struggle to attach. Hubby is happy, I still think it doesn't need to be there.

I have 56 fat quarters in this container, all cotton, a couple of sets, one being Peter Rabbit, I fancy doing some hand sewing, not hexagons, I still have a pile after making my sewing machine cover. My problem is I can't just do patchwork without a final project, I do like to have a finished item in my mind as I am working, 

any suggestions. 

I'm bored, nothing much to do outside, I do sit and watch the birds around the feeder hanging in our Magnolia tree, and Lilly as she explores and prowls. I have done loads of mending, just little bits, once I get started I like to get everything done.

I have a cross stitch which is half done from years ago, I can't find the threads from the kit, I'm sure I will have them in my stash. Normally at this time of year I like to knit or crochet, again I have nothing I need, I still have a few pairs of unworn hand made socks.

I am over half way in my 2024 book, my new slightly larger monitor is making it easier for me, I'm not having to resize the pages all the time, just a few less clicks on each book page, it feels so much simpler. 

Thursday evening we went to our local venue and watched a tribute singer to Neil Diamond, I'm not a fan, hubby loves his music, the singer was Fisher Stevens, at the interval hubby said can we go home please, he did not enjoy the show. We have a couple more shows booked this year, ELO and Christmas by Candlelight. 

Random bits

 Hubby make a delightful cakes each week, here he made brownies, a special treat we don't have too often, after watching bake-off he decided to make a treacle tart. I am so lucky to have a hubby who loves to bake, he does most of the cooking. He got this domed glass cake stand, replacing the plastic container, it does look much nicer.

Another great book, mother and daughter, loads of history, what would you do for your child even if they are not the same as other children, a very different tale, I switched from liking the mother and then the daughter a few times as more of the back story was revealed, I did not want it to end. Book 71 read this year.

I had loads of fun on Sunday, Molly and George being creative, this is for George's class project, Molly joined in as well, they both love crafting, felt tip pens and glue anything shiny. Molly made a plate into Goldilocks and George a bear, George is much better at wearing his glasses whilst sitting and working. They both now are happy to sit and create.

I adore my duffle coat, it's warm and very comfortable, but I have always hated the string and wooden toggles, so finally I have replaced them with nicer ones, sadly the new toggle is plastic, but they do look much better. The coat was too thick to use my sewing machine, I have hand sewn them, there is a zip closure, so these are mainly for show and do not need strength to hold the sides together.

I was using my desktop a couple days ago and the monitor turned off, after checking leads and plugs we agreed the monitor had died, easy task to get another one, but my goodness the wire mess below my desk, firstly dust (hanging my head in shame) and 3 extension leads, I now have just one with a circuit breaker which is attached to Alexa, so I can turn everything off without crawling under the desk. Most of the cables have gone, these days one lead is all that's needed.

We are not doing much at this time, the dry sunny days are just so peaceful, having Sunday at daughters house was fun, it's nice to have someone else cook a meal, I did clear the table and pack the dishwasher, both Molly and George help, it was a quick chore. The afternoon relaxing watching George play with cars, Molly dancing to her favourite tunes, a perfect few hours.

We have not put the heating on as yet, it still warm enough in the day and we have lap blankets for when it cools down, it's promised to get cooler this coming week, so turn on will be soon. We have changed our midweek alarm to 7.30am, I see no point getting up too early, when we are staying at home. We have listened to radio 2 for decades, neither of us are enjoying Scott Mills breakfast show, we have tried other stations, but nothing suits, I do like to wake up to music, so we hope we have picked times where Scott is less silly, Goodness I sound Old. We do like to have a midweek alarm it helps us have an idea what day it might be, and we both get up together, Saturday and Sunday I get a later start.

Books and boats

This is the latest and 8th book in the Strike, private detective series, a huge book, 897 pages, she writes a really good plot, they are tasked with finding if a murdered man is their clients boyfriend, its a cold case and its complicated, as there are a few people who it could be, they already know it's not who the police decided it was. These books have been made into BBC series, so I already know the two main private detectives, to keep it real they also have other cases ongoing. This was one of the best stories, I really enjoyed joyed it, book 69 read this year.

I love this author, I have read most of her titles, this popped up on my kindle, its a great plot, two stories with a fantastic twist near the end and another later in the plot, I loved it. She does plan and draws out a deception, once revealed you immediately realise it was there in plain sight. Book 70 read this year.

My autumn display is out in my kitchen, I do love this little jug with seasonal displays, the colours are typical for this time of year, I did get just one new branch, with the smaller acorns on. There are conkers hubby picked for me for this little dish, the two china pumpkins are years old, I never aluminate them, they will be packed away in November, but the foliage will stay until I pop in Christmas themed bits.

Tuesday we met daughter at Gunwharf Quays in Portsmouth, it was another sunny bright day, she wanted to use her birthday money and used hubby's discount card to save a bit more. She helped us choose Will's Christmas gift from us, we got him new clothes, we had lunch together, a fresh baked Cornish pasty sat in a deck chair in the sunshine before we caught the bus home.

If you look past HMS Warrior, between the dockyard buildings you can see HMS Queen Elizabeth docked, its a huge aircraft carrier, the pale grey showing through. It's always fascinating being on The Hard, this is where the bus station is, so we often look out at Navy vessels along side historic and all the small private vessels. 

We are both loving these cold bright days, laundry has been dried outside, the garden task are being completed, housework has been done and time spent with our daughter, it's much easier to wrap up warm on dry days, our heating is not on yet, we have boosted a couple of times. 

Hubby has had his final results and they threw up a surprise for him, more hospital consultant appointments in the coming weeks, we will face them together, we have always had a united front on what life throws us, for now we are not saying much to our families, once the treatment is in place we will share it all.

We have both enjoyed getting out again, we never expected to get our first Christmas gift, but we did want to choose something special for Will. We did pop to the village yesterday, market day, I looked at plants and kept my purse in my bag, I really do have a full flower garden. Hubby wanted to pop to B&Q for some nice wire for the raspberries, I am banned from using chicken wire (which I already have), I'm going to wait until next spring in hope he forgets and I can use what I have.

What's new

We popped to town on Tuesday morning,  looking for a birthday gift for George, we hope we have found him the perfect gift. We also got some bits for Molly's Christmas gift as well, daughter ask me to make her a crafting box. Hubby was given a book voucher for his birthday, we both love this set of books, priced at £30.00, half price in Waterstones, hubby paid £5.00, bargain.

Tuesday afternoon we were outside in our garden, it was sunny and not too cold, I have moved a couple of tender pots into the greenhouse, I also removed the french marigolds from this blue pot, which now contains violas, which I grew into a bigger size before planting. I have started a few cuttings, it would be helpful to have a few extra plants for next spring.

I really enjoyed this book I got from our local Library, the first few chapters were challenging, but it was worth the wait, the story fine a bit way out but believable, I found myself reading longer just to have more of the story. I guessed who done it, about 3/4 of the way through, not how, the plot kept a bit of doubt in my mind so it held me. Book 68 read this year.

Hubby packed away our seating unit, it goes down to a neat size and will be left along the wall, the cushions have been stored in our attic. Thursday was so nice we sat outside for our afternoon coffee, using our two folding chairs, not as comfortable as our seating, much easier to pack away. We have no idea what the weather is going do day by day. Yep hubby is still wearing shorts.

 

This week has been lovely sunny dry days and not too cold, I have started to pack away my garden ornaments and bringing out pots with spring bulbs, I planted my broad beans, 20 beans, plus 8 in pots incase any don'tgrow. I have one job to sort my raspberry bed, hubby wants to sort the wire fence behind the garage, it looks as if foxes have been trying to get through, he will secure it, as we don't want any animals to be hurt, we just don't want then in our garden.

Wednesday I had my first day out with daughter, without Molly, we are planning to make Wednesdays our time together, we changed our plans and went to my favourite garden centre, looking at plants, daughter is having a long raised bed in her back garden, she needs hardy plants which thrive without too much input from her. We popped to a second garden centre for lunch, its very strange to eat my own meal, normally Molly is trying all my food.

Hubby wanted to sort our attic, its not huge, we live in a converted bungalow, so most of the original attic space is our bedroom, the door is in our wall, easy access. I finally threw out loads of empty boxes, I had kept them for my special ornaments in my cabinet, they will never be used so out they went. 

We have heard scratching in our party wall (the wall between us and next door), our home is semi detached, hubby wanted to check to see how they were getting in, he has sealed the spot on our side, he found rat droppings. The correct solution would be to speak to neighbour and have her attic and wall checked, we have not asked, we know her answer would be no. The party wall is the only wall without insulation, therefore the only space they can climb. We would like to check under our floorboards for activity, but our wooden block floor is impossible to lift and put back without damage, hubby did check in the kitchen, going under a cupboard, again droppings, so poison was laid, its a safe place to leave it, there are no access spots into the house from below. We are now just hoping we have sorted the issue without having to speak to the neighbour, she has ignored us for a few years, whilst sending all her fury to the neighbour on her other side, and we do want to avoid any problems. 

Wet play

 Molly came for a sleepover on Tuesday, she is desperate to go to school each morning when George goes to his class, so we thought a night at ours would help, I had loads for her to do including this colouring page made from a photo taken when we last went to the beach, which she loved. We played outside, balls, scooters, bubbles all enjoyed, back inside she got all our puzzles out. 

Molly wanted to help in the garden, after picking and eating the raspberries, we found a pot for some spring bulbs, she is very good at following instructions, she helped decide which bulbs to use. Photo just for me so I can remember what is planted in here.

Wednesday morning Molly and I took the bus into town which she loved and met mummy, we spent a few hours at our local pottery café, each painting an item, we have done this a few times before, Molly choose a cat and loved it, I decided I needed another mushroom lamp, I'm not very good at decorating, and definitely not so good at the design, I do love crafting but struggle with art. They will be ready for collection in two weeks. Later we had lunch out together plus a visit to a few shops.

This plot leads you everywhere, so many suspects, what happened to Sam, where is she, why are the police not doing very much. A clever plot, twisting, adding to the tail. Book 65 read this year

Another new author to me, this book was very different, a young woman's final school project looking into a murder in her town five years previous. She includes one victims brother, not knowing if he is the right person to work with her. It leads her to suspect many of the people who live locally in the area, a nice ending. Book 66 read this year.

I did pop to our library and got 3 books, one I realised I had read before, it does feel good to hold a book again after reading so many on my tablet, this story is very different, set in an old converted house in Bath, the people who live there are brought together by a frail lady who they decide to help. Looking back at the ladies life as a top quality dress maker, discovering the famous person she dressed, not my normal read, another great book. Book 67 read this year.

I did start to read The Perfect Home, Natasha Boydell, I could not get into the plot and realised I was not interested in the story, just a bit too soft style of writing for me. I have a few inside project for the coming days, we are due to stay wet until after the weekend.

My time in the garden is dropping as the weather changes, I still walk around most mornings just checking everything and where Lilly is, Lilly has taken to sleeping on my net cover for my brassicas, it's not a strong contraption so it dips, and I curse her, she watches me but is not learning. The garden is still giving so I wait to plant out winter items, I am often ahead of myself, waiting for the space to appear, I never learn. 

Nothing much is happening here, which is OK, we both love quiet, hubby's medical results are mixed and as yet there are no changes to his medication, at this time there is nothing they can do, its a case of wait and watch, not bad news as he will never improve, but he is maintaining his level of fitness. 

Rain changed play

 A quick visit to our favourite garden centre to look at spring bulbs, less variety this year, I could not resist these tulips, China Town with 7 bulbs, aren't they pretty. I have placed an online order for some other bulbs, I have been looking for different varieties. The cyclamen hubby choose, he liked the colours.

I've started my new season pots, earlier this year I moved loads of bulbs around the garden, with the knowledge I would need to purchase more for pots. I already had one cyclamen plant its very similar to the new plant, the crocus bulbs are around the plants, this is by my patio doors, the summer pot is now back in my greenhouse. 

I needed some long plastic covered metal poles for a small change around in my raspberry bed, I was really chuffed to find what I required both sizes half price all are over two meters tall. Saved just over £10 on these.

I have been busy with my sewing machine, all the hems have been stitched on Will's school trousers, the hems always fail, so I stitch the new ones and avoid the issue. I also had the blanket from our neighbours son, he is a Boy Scout, and loves his blanket, he has collected more badges from his travels, another quick task.

This book was clever, it started with 3 women's stories, building to how they link together with a good twist, how revenge turns into helping another, I loved the plot. Book 64 read this year.

We are finally having the rain the garden requires, good steady rain, we have had some rain for the last 5 days, 3 days heavy, it has stopped us going outside, I don't have much to do, I have been forming a couple small plans, which include using the poles shown above, once the raspberries have finished I want to move the blueberries in the big tub and redo the structure for the raspberries to grow up. I have removed the nets from inside the greenhouse, so the light can get in and for the first time in months I have shut the door, I have an automatic window opener, so it should be OK. 

Being inside I am getting jobs done, only little things, bits I have ignored whilst being outside in the glorious sunshine. We have finished watching Destination X and loved it, neither of us like Josh, so we were happy he had his perceived victory snatched away from him, I have also been watching Fortune Hotel, I did not watch the first series, and I'm still unsure about it, hubby did not enjoy it at all. We both love Sewing Bee, again there are some talented people, we refuse to watch Masterchef, I have never liked Greg Wallace, but liked John Torode and felt uncomfortable with how he was treated. Soon it will be Bake off and Strickly, I'm watching The Inheritance with Rob Rinder, new on channel 4, I do like him and of course Traitors, Ireland and celebrities.