Lot cooler and more overcast today. Thank goodness that wind has dropped too - have come to the conclusion that wind is only good for sailing & kite flying. Even then in moderation...
Have moved my tomatoes into the potting shed for a couple of days. It's forecast to be down into single figures for the next couple of nights and I could do for the fruits to start ripening before we get to September! A couple are finally starting to colour up - so hopefully we'll be able to try them soon.
I've already started to put the brakes on the plants by picking off new flowering shoots. They probably wouldn't have time to develop into decent fruit before October - hopefully now all the energy will be channelled into ripening the existing fruit.
Lily P - glad to hear the vet couldn't find anything too amiss with your poor dog.
Joyce - love black & white cats (don't tell my ginger boy though!)
Hosta - hope you make it home safe and sound. We've virtually given up on holidays that require air travel. OH does it (& all the airport security that goes with it) for work. Queueing for security, opening your lap top case, taking off your belt / shoes etc etc is ok once a year for a holiday. Rubbish when it's every single working day - often more than once a day.
Made beetroot and apple relish this morning - looks very pretty - want to try it with a nice piece of strong cheddar - recipe says wait a minimum of 3 months
Heaven is ... sitting in the garden with a G&T and a cat while watching the sun go down
The whole back garden has had a good soaking from the seep hose and the sprinkler - lots of plants were looking floppy. Also the grape vine, pear tree and the clematis and buddleja in the front garden have all had a large watering can full of water each. Expect an un-forecast heavy downpour very soon
Last edited: 08 August 2016 18:57:03
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Thought I'd let you know we're home safe and sound.
Been cutting grass and watering polytunnels since I got home but just had a nice bath and hubby is making din dins. No Thai red curry and Pad Thai tonight though.
I've spent an afternoon with my crochet hooks and have started on a new rug for the living room using some Boodles yarn I've felt guilty about not using for too long. Husband cooked us a chilli for dinner, we've caught up on dragons den, and I'm about to do a bit more crochet whilst watching Stranger Things on Netflix.....it's 80s tastic, makes me wish I could remember more of my 80s childhood!
Evening all yup Joyce you were right....Sunday was a delicate and gentle day after Saturdays party that ended in me going to bed the same time Dove normally does her first post on here!
Have read back but as you can imagine, my brain isn't very useful right now and its only real purpose is as ballast to stop my head floating away! So work was FUN today!
Lilyp glad pooch has been checked over by the vet Flatters fakes illness to go and get fussed and told how handsome he is, then he's always better to go out on the town come Friday night!
Welcome home Hosta and hubby! Glad you enjoyed your trip!
Totally agree Topbird, hate too much fuss with travel, as long as I'm in the middle of nowhere with very few people, I'm happy! Dread the very idea of airports!
Can't remember anymore, greetings to everyone!
Off for a very much needed early night on new memory foam mattress that me and hubby have already fallen in love with!
Thanks for your good wishes re Mr Toad. You would have laughed at the sight of me standing on the edge of the sink with my head and one shoulder out of the window into the ventilation shaft, trying to guide a reluctant amphibian into my largest saucepan with a slotted spoon... no success so far, so I'll give it another go tomorrow. In theory I can get access to the shaft from out at the back of the house, but it means unscrewing the cover and folding myself into a 4ft long x 18ins wide x 3ft deep hole (without stepping on the toad...), so I'm a bit reluctant.
Lantana, our house is built into a steep hillside and used to be 2 back-to-backs. Each house had a total of 3 rooms, one on each floor. The front house had a kitchen/living room on the ground floor, bedroom on the first floor and attic in the roof. The back house had a cellar, kitchen/living room on the ground floor, bedroom on the first floor. The cellar of the back house was on the same level as the kitchen of the front house. Clear so far?? The cellar of the back house is our kitchen, open plan with the kitchen/living room of the front house so it isn't dark - but it's below ground level and has a ventilation shaft. Into which a small toad has inserted himself, under the screwed down cover...
We are in the rather unusual position of having a back door one storey higher than the front door.
Since 2019 I've lived in east Clare, in the west of Ireland.
Morning all when you wake up. I just saw on the weather channel footage of an oil rig that has blown away from its moorings and run aground. I'm starting to believe all your stories of high winds
For a change, we've got a still day with a little cloud, but predicted a very bad blow coming tonight and tomorrow,
Ive started moving the tubs of strawberries from the GH, where they've been over wintering, out to the garden. Cleaning off discoloured and dead leaves and giving them a new boost of potting mix. I'm not sure why I bother though. When the fruit come on, the birds usually beat me to them.
Not as cold as I expected last night ... 10.6C in the back garden and rising now - the sky is wall to wall blue - not a cloud in sight and the low sun is highlighting the fact that the sitting room windows need cleaning inside I'm not allowed to do the dining room one as it involves stretching across the sideboard ... I did it three days before Wonky's wedding and ended up with a sort of slipped disc and was on high strength painkillers. Ever since then OH cleans that window ... just one of the benefits of having a younger OH
Last edited: 09 August 2016 07:07:37
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Pat; funny you mention strawberries I grow no end of them. But my partner hates them so I always seem to grow them for the birds. Still as long as someone enjoys them!
Day off today; hurrah! Off to see the family for lunch so lots of driving involved. I think I've done "something" to my back. Not sure what yet; I'm hoping it'll settle down without the need to bring out the big drugs.
Still I'll break my journey up with a walk around Ikea. The very expensive lights we brought won't work in the hallway so I need to find some other options.
Posts
Afternoon
Lot cooler and more overcast today. Thank goodness that wind has dropped too - have come to the conclusion that wind is only good for sailing & kite flying. Even then in moderation...
Have moved my tomatoes into the potting shed for a couple of days. It's forecast to be down into single figures for the next couple of nights and I could do for the fruits to start ripening before we get to September! A couple are finally starting to colour up - so hopefully we'll be able to try them soon.
I've already started to put the brakes on the plants by picking off new flowering shoots. They probably wouldn't have time to develop into decent fruit before October - hopefully now all the energy will be channelled into ripening the existing fruit.
Lily P - glad to hear the vet couldn't find anything too amiss with your poor dog.
Joyce - love black & white cats (don't tell my ginger boy though!)
Hosta - hope you make it home safe and sound. We've virtually given up on holidays that require air travel. OH does it (& all the airport security that goes with it) for work. Queueing for security, opening your lap top case, taking off your belt / shoes etc etc is ok once a year for a holiday. Rubbish when it's every single working day - often more than once a day.
Made beetroot and apple relish this morning - looks very pretty - want to try it with a nice piece of strong cheddar - recipe says wait a minimum of 3 months
Yes Topbird, really glad that wind has dropped
The whole back garden has had a good soaking from the seep hose and the sprinkler - lots of plants were looking floppy. Also the grape vine, pear tree and the clematis and buddleja in the front garden have all had a large watering can full of water each. Expect an un-forecast heavy downpour very soon
Last edited: 08 August 2016 18:57:03
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
evening all.
Thought I'd let you know we're home safe and sound.
Been cutting grass and watering polytunnels since I got home but just had a nice bath and hubby is making din dins. No Thai red curry and Pad Thai tonight though.
Good to hear you're both home safe and sound Hosta
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Welcome home Hosta! Glad you got back safely.
LP gad your pooch is OK.
I've spent an afternoon with my crochet hooks and have started on a new rug for the living room using some Boodles yarn I've felt guilty about not using for too long. Husband cooked us a chilli for dinner, we've caught up on dragons den, and I'm about to do a bit more crochet whilst watching Stranger Things on Netflix.....it's 80s tastic, makes me wish I could remember more of my 80s childhood!
Evening all
yup Joyce you were right....Sunday was a delicate and gentle day after Saturdays party that ended in me going to bed the same time Dove normally does her first post on here! 
Have read back but as you can imagine, my brain isn't very useful right now and its only real purpose is as ballast to stop my head floating away! So work was FUN today!
Lilyp glad pooch has been checked over by the vet
Flatters fakes illness to go and get fussed and told how handsome he is, then he's always better to go out on the town come Friday night! 
Welcome home Hosta and hubby! Glad you enjoyed your trip!
Totally agree Topbird, hate too much fuss with travel, as long as I'm in the middle of nowhere with very few people, I'm happy! Dread the very idea of airports!
Can't remember anymore, greetings to everyone!
Off for a very much needed early night on new memory foam mattress that me and hubby have already fallen in love with!
Hi folks!
Thanks for your good wishes re Mr Toad. You would have laughed at the sight of me standing on the edge of the sink with my head and one shoulder out of the window into the ventilation shaft, trying to guide a reluctant amphibian into my largest saucepan with a slotted spoon... no success so far, so I'll give it another go tomorrow. In theory I can get access to the shaft from out at the back of the house, but it means unscrewing the cover and folding myself into a 4ft long x 18ins wide x 3ft deep hole (without stepping on the toad...), so I'm a bit reluctant.
Lantana, our house is built into a steep hillside and used to be 2 back-to-backs. Each house had a total of 3 rooms, one on each floor. The front house had a kitchen/living room on the ground floor, bedroom on the first floor and attic in the roof. The back house had a cellar, kitchen/living room on the ground floor, bedroom on the first floor. The cellar of the back house was on the same level as the kitchen of the front house. Clear so far?? The cellar of the back house is our kitchen, open plan with the kitchen/living room of the front house so it isn't dark - but it's below ground level and has a ventilation shaft. Into which a small toad has inserted himself, under the screwed down cover...
We are in the rather unusual position of having a back door one storey higher than the front door.
Morning all when you wake up. I just saw on the weather channel footage of an oil rig that has blown away from its moorings and run aground. I'm starting to believe all your stories of high winds
For a change, we've got a still day with a little cloud, but predicted a very bad blow coming tonight and tomorrow,
Ive started moving the tubs of strawberries from the GH, where they've been over wintering, out to the garden. Cleaning off discoloured and dead leaves and giving them a new boost of potting mix. I'm not sure why I bother though. When the fruit come on, the birds usually beat me to them.
Good morning all
G'day Pat 
Not as cold as I expected last night ... 10.6C in the back garden and rising now - the sky is wall to wall blue - not a cloud in sight and the low sun is highlighting the fact that the sitting room windows need cleaning inside
I'm not allowed to do the dining room one as it involves stretching across the sideboard ... I did it three days before Wonky's wedding and ended up with a sort of slipped disc and was on high strength painkillers. Ever since then OH cleans that window ... just one of the benefits of having a younger OH 
Last edited: 09 August 2016 07:07:37
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Pat; funny you mention strawberries I grow no end of them. But my partner hates them so I always seem to grow them for the birds. Still as long as someone enjoys them!
Day off today; hurrah! Off to see the family for lunch so lots of driving involved. I think I've done "something" to my back. Not sure what yet; I'm hoping it'll settle down without the need to bring out the big drugs.
Still I'll break my journey up with a walk around Ikea. The very expensive lights we brought won't work in the hallway so I need to find some other options.