Monday morning..............

Well, good morning to you all. I am hoping those of you in Arkansas are good - that tornado seemed horrendous. While it is a grey day in Middle England, we do not have to cope with a tornado, and I am very thankful for that, believe me.

I have been typing away here for the past half hour. You will be so happy to hear that I have so far deleted:

A discussion about stains and their removal from garments

The nappy dilemma gripping the nation this morning. Apparently some children are wearing nappies at school. Some even into the mid teens. Nappies= diapers.

A discussion re putting babies into over-crowded nurseries at 5-6 months.

Mention of the need to clean carpets. 

It must be Monday.

I had a lovely expedition to the garden centre on Saturday, and I did indeed buy some small plants for my hanging baskets. Not many, but I do love the million bells and if I wait another few weeks, I would have to pay 3x the price for larger plants. I like the teeny ones I can grow on in the green houses. 

Actually, it was the shortest Garden Centre trip in living memory. I was in the door, popping the 6 plants in the basket and out within 10 minutes. I did not mooch. I  did not browse. I did not even glance at the other 99.9% of the huge place. I must have been coming down with some mystery illness. 

It is apple blossom time here, and the scalped tree is starting to look better with some signs of greenery and pretty flowers. It always looks so odd when it has been pruned back hard, as it has been this year.

Rather like I do when I have had my hair cut. I always look odd then too. I am now writing about identifying with trees. Maybe I should step away for a moment, and research What Topics To Write About On The Blog instead. 

A season for growing..............

April vanished as well. Almost. Sigh. I am getting worse and worse at this, people. Intentions are good, but reality is something else. As you can see, Spring arrived a while back. The rape-seed (canola) is everywhere and so is hay fever. That stuff is a nightmare for just about everyone.

In a fit of spring-like fever, we spent a good part of the Easter weekend down at the allotment. David did the work, and I pottered up and down. Issuing instructions, as one does. The head of the allotment committee has hens down there. In fact, loads of people keep hens. His, however, seem to have the run of the place, and were pecking away at the purple sprouting broccoli quite happily. And other assorted vegetables. Unfortunately, none of their owner's vegetables, though. David did some chicken herding but it was useless. Have you tried herding hens? And a rooster? Hmmm. 

The raised beds are ready for planting, the rest of the allotment has been rotivated, thanks to the hard work  of friends and son, and the broad beans are planted. it is way too early to plant more at the moment. But here at home, the pots of potatoes are doing well, and the lettuce, spinach and peas are flourishing. Never mind the blog being neglected, mustering the energy to do the garden is also requiring a Herculean effort. And this is me, Linds, speaking. 

What can I say. It has been a tough year. 

But I have planted seeds. And I have got a fairly full greenhouse. Nothing like normal years, but there will be colour. And pretty stuff. And tomatoes. And herbs. And vegetables. 

Diana spent two weeks down south while Andrew and his family were on holiday. Missy is getting so big - she is 5, tall, skinny, and absolutely wonderful, of course. School holidays are now over, and Diana is home again. We have the delightful prospect of the advent of a new central heating system to contemplate in coming months. This will entail much re-organisation of Stuff. Much throwing out. And the thought is enough to send me back into hibernation mode again. And the loft needs emptying as well. Insulation, you see. Groan. 

But it has to be done, and we will be ever so thankful next winter. When we are WARM. 

After a dismal, wet early morning, the sun is attempting to shine as I speak. I had to get up at dawn, you see, because my friend sent me a message to say that my Facebook page appeared to have vanished, so that meant get up and get downstairs and investigate it all. So I did. It seems to be there. But then I decided to do more changing of the passwords and re-organising of everything again. 

So, perhaps more coffee and a trip out to the garden to investigate any new growth is in order. Maybe a visit to the garden centre as well. We will see..............