Rain, Rain and Even more Rain

Isn't it just never ending?  Today it has rained constantly, heavy mostly and lighter occasionally  a truly unpleasant day.

Tomorrow Mr Milly and me are off to Wales to stay for a few days with my Auntie and her hubby.  We are going to be sightseeing as I realised recently that in the 27 years we have been together Mr Milly has only been to Wales  for Weddings or Funerals - it is time to have a different look at Wales.   No doubt it will rain!

The lovely Portuguese Housekeeper will be here to house and animal sit,  we have been out today and stocked up food for the furries and bits and bobs for the human one.   As I am not going to be here I have soaked all of the seedlings around the house and in the greenhouse and hopefully they will be OK on my return.  I did need to go to the Lottie as the potatoes are now beginning to appear,  ideally I would have let them grow on a few more inches before covering them over, but in case there is a frost in the next couple of days I thought it best to add some protective soil now.  The Portuguese Housekeeper came with me to help  and between us we put together the mesh cloche for the carrot bed.  We have completed quite a few DIY jobs together now work well and quickly together,  we completed the cloche in record time and I have to say we were very pleased with the result and with ourselves!!

Carrot protection netting Cloche

Tonight we are packing,  I have made a fruit cake to take with us and a simple chocolate to leave at home for the Portuguese Housekeeper - I am sure she will enjoy it!    I have made an apron for the Auntie and a Peg bag too,  in fact I have got a little carried away with the little apron peg bags and there is now a collection,  one has already been claimed by my sister-in-law,  one for me,  one for Auntie and the rest will be put on Ebay shortly - a little test to see if they will sell,  fingers and toes crossed!

Peg bags all in a row

Apron for Auntie

A little blogging break to follow and I will be back in a flash to update on our visit to Welsh Wales.
Alison x

April Showers

I know we needed the rain,  I don't know about you - but I am getting a little fed up of it now!   Typically I have 2 weeks off work and it looks like it will be raining virtually every one of those days.

I have managed sometime at the Lottie this week, dodged the showers sometimes,  been caught in down pours often and sat in the shed with a mug of coffee during some thunder storms - which was a tad scary!  Mr Milly is fed up now with all the muddy washing this week as I seem to have brought home a good part of the Lottie clinging to my clothes everyday!

Anyway - I had a plan of what I wanted to achieve and have worked hard this week,   by Friday though the new Plot 96 was looking a complete bomb site and I had to keep reminding myself that it is often this way to achieve the end result.

This week I have taken down the tatty pallet compost bins, cleared a corner of the plot, removing brambles along the way,  laid weed membrane and wood chips,  constructed a new compost bin with the best of the pallets and then dug all of the partially composted material from the old bins and moved it into the new bin.   Finally a cage to protect the peas has been made and what a difference this has made to Plot 96 - which is now looking heaps better!

Plot 96 In February 2012

Tatty compost bins 

New tidy Compost area

Plot 96 in April 2012

Pea Cage with little pea plants starting to appear

On Saturday I had a Lottie free day and we travelled to Kent to spend the day with My Girl.  It was lovely to see her and apart from her recently broken rib (as I have said often,  she is the most accident prone creature!)  she is looking healthy, well and happy - which is all you can wish for really.

We went into Canterbury for a little retail therapy and our lovely daughter cost me a fortune!  We did have fun though.  We haven't been into Canterbury before and what a lovely town it is,  next time we visit we are going to do the Cathedral tour.  I was a little shocked at the price of tickets for the Cathedral - £9.50 for an adult,  I hope it is worth that amount of money!

Cathedral Gate

A glimpse of the Cathedral

Mr Milly and My Girl

Look at that - our 2 favourite shops right next to each other!  How handy :)

 My Girl and Me

I hope you had a good weekend and haven't been washed away!
Alison x

A lottie update

I realise there hasn't been a lottie update for a while - mainly as this time of the year things are still looking quite bleak and a little uninteresting.   As always there is still much to be done,  all of the main planting areas for this year are now ready for the growing season and now my thoughts are turning to tidying up and sorting out the new Plot 96.

I have whizzed the camera round the plots and there are definite signs of growth and the promise of things to come.

Rhubarb growing nicely - I have to be patient with these
though as they can't be picked in their first year :(

Gooseberry bush beginning to get its new leaves

Strawberry patch looking healthy and green

2 rows of peas planted and covered with fleece to stop the birds and mice digging up the seeds

Spring greens bulking up.  I have lost a few though!

The autumn planted Garlic and Onions seemed to have perked up and had a recent growth spurt

Looking around the site in general,  I don't seem to be doing too bad!  There are still many plots with nothing growing at all, and a few plots here and there that do seem to have been abandoned with no work having been done on them at all this year - in my little corner of the site 4 of the plots closest to me are now looking decided unloved - it would be good to have a few more people around now and again!

Gloucestershire

We had a lovely weekend in Gloucestershire, fortunately the weather was really kind to us with no rain for the 3 days we were away,  it was a little chilly - but then it is still the middle of April!

We visited Bristol for the day,  drove over the top of the Avon Gorge via Clifton Suspension bridge and then drove along the bottom of the gorge road,  it is very  picturesque and interesting.   We then went to Harbourside and found Bristol Packet Boats.   They had 2 trips running,  a 45 minute harbour tour or a longer trip to Besse Tea Gardens -- this one was an hour there, an hour stop at the tea gardens and then an hour back,  I quite fancied the Tea Garden trip,  but as it wasn't the warmest of days  we thought it could be pretty cold.   In the end the 45 mins harbour trip was enough and it was really interesting.   I like doing these type of tours as usually you will discover something interesting that you only find out on tours.

One of the many restaurant/bar boats.

Some of the many colours of Bristol

The lovely Mr Milly chilling on the boat - or Mr Milly chilled on the boat!!

For lunch we visited Za Za Bazaar,  this restaurant is capable of seating 1000 people and it certainly was different!  You are given a map when you arrive with the locations of the different food stations with the instructions to retain your cutlery and the staff will keep clearing your plates.  Then you wander around the different food stations and help yourself to what ever takes your fancy!  The range of food on offer is mind boggling,  Indian, Chinese, English, American, Italian and others.  There was also an ice cream machine and chocolate fountain!  Me and Mr Milly were seated near to the dessert station and it was hysterical watching folks navigate the ice cream machine and the chocolate fountain,  people do the funniest things!

We spent another day just resting with some spa treatments,  Mr Milly had a facial and Indian Head Massage - he was completely chilled out the remainder of the day!  I had a back massage,  not a soft massage, but quite firm which is how I prefer them,  I could feel some of my knots and tension being massaged away - Lovely!!

When we left on Monday we made a longish detour to Bicester and the Outlet Village - there were 2 shops in particular we wanted to visit Fat Face for Mr Milly and Cath Kidston for me.  We did find them both and enough said about that as we did come home with a big bag full each!!

We thoroughly enjoyed our Anniversary Treat and spending time together just relaxing!!

Alison

My Mum

Love and miss you Mum.

In Corsica June 2009

Carol Jenkins

22nd December 1940 - 12th April 2011

Celebration Week

We have had a lovely Silver Anniversary week Me and Mr Milly.  We have been totally spoilt with lots of cards,  loads of Facebook messages and lovely gifts.

My beautiful flowers from Mr Milly

Yesterday  we had a lovely meal arranged by my Sister-in-Law,  7 of us went to a special little restaurant near to us for a celebratory meal,  far too much champagne and some wine  really good food and then  afterwards we popped to our friends house  as they were unable to join us for the meal due to work - more champagne and and memorable evening to end our celebratory week.    I suffered this morning though with a stinking headache but it was worth it!!

Next weekend we have a lovely weekend away to look forward to,  a gift from Mr Milly's family and My boy - we are excited and planning what we will do with our time away.

The hotel for our Weekend away!

To all of our family and friends - thank you for all the kind words and lovely gifts, we have felt very very spoilt.  x x x x x 

Today we have spent a quiet day at home,  recovering from our hectic weekend and enjoying a little craft time.  I am so completely fed up with digging at the Lottie that I gave myself the day off. 

I found an adorable little pattern on the Internet and decided we needed a new peg bag,  I think it is really cute!  

My Peg Bag

And of course as usual, the peg bag was spotted by my sister-in-law and very conveniently I was told that her boys had accidently broken her plastic peg bucket with a football, so she was in dire need of a new one - how is that for timing!!!!!

Sister-in-law's Peg Bag

A pair of very cute little peg bags with matching covered hangers,  put together this afternoon.  

Peg Bags

Our Special Day

It is 25 years ago today that we became Mr and Mrs Milly.

Happy Silver Anniversary to my lovely hubby!

Don't we make a lovely couple - I think Mr Milly has aged a little,  whereas me - I haven't changed a bit!!    :)