Friday

Friday!  Nearly a week of the holiday over.  What have I achieved this week?  What have I done?

Well - I've slept a lot. An awful lot.  That can't be a bad thing really.  Even yesterday I slept twice round at Beth's while waiting for my car to be serviced and MOTed.  I think (hope) I am just catching up although I do wish I didn't wake quite so early each morning.

I've done some cooking.  Recipes are on my other blog.

The car is now MOTed and road taxed but the bill was a bit ouch.  Something to do with emissions and a catalytic converter.  Funnily enough, I transferred an amount that was with a tenner of the final bill from my savings yesterday so that's taken off some of the stress.

What else have I done?  Not a lot really, but I'm enjoying the holiday and surely that's what it is all about?

Today?  Well, who knows.  I'm making no promises!  It was jolly hot again yesterday and I thought I wouldn't sleep all that well overnight, but I did.  I'm always up early but it was, for me, OK early, not stupid o'clock.

The middle bed is looking quite odd since I had out a lot of the crocosmia.  It was the stuff I sprayed (mostly) and hadn't flowered, so it wasn't looking amazing anyway but the tall green and brown speckled leaf-spires took up some room and what with the lupin also not being there, it's all a bit bare.  I like it better though, despite the emptiness.  It was getting a bit overcrowded.  Very overcrowded, in fact.

The Japanese anemone is budding up now, which is great.  They do tend to take up a fair amount of space so that's some filling in (or is it in-filling?) done.  I need to look out for things I would like in that bed - trouble free perennials that don't spread too much.  But just at the moment it looks as if it is taking time to just breathe properly and that's OK with me!

Actually, thinking about it, I have a heuchera in the leafy aromatic bed that is seriously crowded out.  It is beautiful but can't really be seen.  Maybe I could move that to the middle bed.  I'll think on that one.

The surprise tomatoes are definitely here to stay and yesterday I noticed some flowers which means fruit cannot be far behind.  Amazing!  Ditto with the one dwarf bean.  I have no idea why the others didn't survive really but I shall have another go next year and I guess I'd not have had the surprise of the tomatoes if the beans had all come up!   Silver linings.

Talking of tomatoes, I took six over to Beth yesterday and there's another several ripening too.  They may be ready on Sunday but if not my house sitter can enjoy them next week.  Ditto with the runner beans which look as if they are just about to glut - there's loads and loads of them coming on now plus so many flowers.  The two red pepper plants have about eight peppers developing nicely with, again, loads of flowers.  The chili is also flourishing.  They obviously like this very hot weather a lot more than I do.

And talking of weather (because I always do), it looks as if we might get some light, thundery rain today, early and middle afternoon, just when it is at its hottest.  Not nice!  For now the windows are open, the air is cool and I'm glad I wake early.

Have a lovely day and stay cool as much as you can!