Sunday

After a wet, sunny, heavy humid day and night, this morning is lovely.  The sky is a glorious blue and the air (at the moment) is fresh.  It's also pollen laden - I've sneezed multiple times already!  Yesterday wasn't - I suppose the heavy rain early on settled the pollen.  I forgot to take my morning tablet and didn't suffer much but I won't be forgetting today.  I hate the constant itch of ears, nose and throat and when the eyes join the fun too I want nothing so much as a piece of steel wool to scratch with!

I got a lot done yesterday afternoon.  I pootled into school and spent four hours getting up to date with sorting things out and generally getting thing back into order (something I should have done in the half term break but didn't).  Things are now much more up to date and, although it still doesn't look tidy, it's a lot better than it was!

It's always nice the weekend after Lenka has done her clean.  I find there's very little to do in the way of mundane housework which suits me just fine.

Today I have plenty to do.  Washing, for a start (clothes as well as me!) and so on.  I really do need to get the tomatoes and the peppers into their final growing places.  The tomatoes will go into those growbag pots which seems a great compromise, and I have pots for the two pepper plants.  I've just sown another row of carrots which makes four rows sown over a three week period so that should keep me well supplied.

I can't remember if I mentioned, but a while ago Beth brought over some sweet corn seedlings for me to look after (because her cat, Theo, like to eat the tips) but they didn't thrive for some reason and only four remained.  Her baby corn seedlings were fine, as are the new lot of corn she brought over so goodness knows what happened, but anyway, I have the four survivors and intend to use them and see.  Four isn't many so I was told that each time I go past I need to give them a little shake to encourage pollination (should they live that long!).  I think I can remember that.
Then, in the same bed, there's enough room for some leeks and some broccoli, should Beth be so good as to give me some mini plants.  Runner beans, carrots, parsley, corn, leeks and broccoli - not bad for a little bed!

I know I'm waffling on a lot about the garden at the moment but it's exciting!

Yesterday I asked if anyone knew the flower - on Facebook it was suggested it was a gerbera and I think I vaguely remember that's right.  Anyway, it is very pretty.

Yesterday I pondered about lifting some slabs to create more growing space but the comments weren't positive about this (thank you for the advice, folks, I appreciate that).  Then I remembered that I want a rotary washing line to go in that quarter of the garden.  When I retire I want to be able to hang out my washing most of the time, you see, and I can't as things are now.  Can't have a veg bed and a washing line!  So I might go back to considering high beds - I called them beds on legs but I gather a more correct term is 'manger beds' which makes sense.  More pondering coming up plus a bit of googling!  After all, while I can afford it, planning for the future, etc . . .

Beth and Alex are over for lunch and I intend to cheat.  Morrisons has pizzas at two for three pounds so I will knock up a salad, make some coleslaw and some potato salad and pick some strawberries to have with slices of melon for afters.  Sounds nice and summery, doesn't it?

So I guess I'd better get started as I think coleslaw is better made before and allowed to 'sit' for a while and the new pots need cooking!.