The wind howls............

After a lovely warm (howling gale) and sunny day, we are back to the gloom at the moment, although I have high hopes for later on. That is why the washing machine is whirring away as I speak. Yesterday, I had the last of the linen after our Swiss visitors' stay out on the airers drying, and the airers keeled over regularly in the wind. In my dream garden, there will be a rigid washing line. As in, one which does not fall over into the bushes thus rendering the washing part of the process redundant. Ah, the frustrations of a laundress. Mind you, at least I am not scrubbing the sheets with stones in a river, so one must celebrate the small stuff.

I have been obsessively watching the soil for emerging plants. Lilies. Yesterday morning, there were 6. Last night, there were 14. However, the slug/snail population seems to be waking as well, so I have just scattered the pellets all over the garden. Do any of you use nematodes? I had coffee with a friend yesterday, and she recommended using it. I will have a word at the garden centre when I next visit. My seedlings are growing in the greenhouses, and I could not be more excited. The ones indoors are shooting up as well, Mother reports. They are on her bedroom windowsill, and she is in charge of watering them. The courgettes are winning the race at the moment. Some tumbling tomatoes are trying to catch up. Such a delight.

Today's post seems to be about all the normal inconsequential events around these parts. But this is my life. I have also started a wide band ripple, because I can and because there is enough wool in the stash to preclude any spending of money. I am on the third colour and I rather like the solid bands. 4 rows of each colour, instead of the normal 1 or 2. I rather like the new colour plan. I am using a #4 hook. I think it would have been less dense had I used the 4.5 one. In fact, I think I always use a 4.5, so what the heck I was thinking, I do not know. Let's look at it this way.....it is going to be warm. And heavy. I can cope with that.

It will also need more wool. That I am going to try to avoid somehow. There will be random stripes of any colour I unearth. I think I will call it the Leftover Ripple.

In other news, today was the funeral for Baroness Thatcher, and it was a dignified event, with some amazing music. I am trying to find out the music the band played as the procession made its way through the streets with the coffin on the gun carriage. It was absolutely beautiful. And it is over without incident. 

Now, I am off to meet my daughter who is returning home after looking after her brother's home while they have been away......