Journal Your Christmas day 13 - weather

The last white Christmas I remember (with actual snow covering the ground) was that memorable December of 2010. I hadn't seen snow like it since childhood - there actually wasn't much of it but it froze solid and lasted weeks and weeks. I know we had one other when Chook was a toddler because you can see it in the background of our photos of our dining table at Christmas dinner but they are actually pretty rare round these parts.

It's been really mild this year but so, SO wet. I never did get my grass its last cut of the year coz it just seems to have heen raining constantly since October! But today? It was -3C first thing and we had a really good, hard frost.

It didn't bother Temple much. He likes to patrol the garden regardless of the weather and was out for hours. His ears were freezing when he eventually shouted to be let in.

But Jones? He is a much more fair-weather cat. He wasn't sure what to make of the crispy grass at all and was bounding like a gazelle trying to touch it as little as possible. Five minutes and he was yowling to get back into the warmth.

It makes for a very pretty garden, though.

And the chances of a white Christmas this year? Apparently Edinburgh Castle is sitting at 5/2 odds so maybes!

Blogtober day 4 - bits and bobs

This doesn't happen often but that felt like a looong weekend! Friday night was spent playing the Star Wars: X-wing miniatures game at our friend's house. We hadn't played before but it was such fun! This is Vader about to vape Luke (me an' Chook were the Imperials so it's okay to applaud this *g*)

There was a fair amount of this going on, too, figuring out line of fire before our moves and stuff. There may have been laser sights and things - super duper nerfy (ha!! That's a typo but I'm leaving it in) but such a great night.

Yesterday after a lovely long lie I did a spot of shopping (we go abroad on holiday next Saturday and I'm barely prepared!) and had a visit with some friends. Where I was in receipt of a late birthday gift. Who cares how late, though, when it is this!!! And, yes, Chook has her order in already and Spouse is debating his.

Today was ponies. "What the heck is that over there?!"

And I lifted the last of my veg and planted some winter bedding plants.  Gotta love a pansy.

Temple was on trespasser cat duty.

And I've been doing a fair bit of this, too. It's supposed to be my holiday knitting but it's quite addictive and I think I might finish it before we leave! Oops.

 And tonight I have finished the muslin for my coat-along coat. I'll share tomorrow after I get photos. It's a public holiday here tomorrow but the schools are still on. Shame!! Not really. So Spouse and I have cinema/lunch/shopping plans. How nice!! I might buy yarn for a hat to take on holiday.  Wooly hat knitting by the pool - awesome!! 

veggies by me

So back in May the Chook and I planted up a bunch of seeds in little pots for our newly built raised bed. I was amazed when they came up!

I was even more stunned when they started to thrive in my wee garden in June - even the stuff seeded right into the soil!

We have had a terrible, terrible summer in Scotland. Chook has had shorts on twice and not since the first week in July. But when we got home from holiday in the middle of July this is what we were met with. Result!! 

Well last weekend Spouse decided to tidy the bed up a bit and try and contain the finger sized slugs that were decimating anything remotely leafy. And came back in with a handful of carrots and red onions!

Not to be outdone I found some baby turnips and a red beetroot!

Here's our final haul.

Yes, the carrots are round (!!) And the slugs really did have a mighty go at that cabbage, there's not much left. But the peas are amazing (we've had loads) and my Little Gem lettuces are shop worthy. I still have a couple of big cabbages, brocolli coming on fabulously and green beans appearing. More peas and beetroot, too. So I think we can say the wee veggie patch was a succeess! Next year? Slug control!! And hopefully some sun coz my tomatoes are pitiful. But no bad, eh? 

Outdoorsville - take 2

*editing coz I forgot some stuff!*  

Lots of outsidey stuff going on this week at Chateau DLM! Chook had a great lesson today on her special favourite boy, Freckles. He's a fairly newly broken horse (not a pony, you'll note!) and a wee bit green but very honest. Chook loves him to bits, even his fidgeting.

Here they are having a wee jump. Excuse the sound - it was really windy! We're on track for the coldest June since the 40s here!

It was The Royal Highland Show in Edinburgh last week and Chook was there with the school. It was their "Pupils of the Year" award and only forty kids from the entire school got to go. *smug* I said to Chook to try and get a photo of her with her pals or even a selfie with something cool. Here's her offering - half a selfie and a goat.

Well Spouse was there the day after "for work" (aye, right) so I said the same to him. Here is his selfie with an animal - his manager, "who is a goat." Le sigh. He's actually going to Italy also "for work." *suspicious look*  If it's for something to do with a beer factory he is definitely at it.

Closer to home Temple has a new favourite lookout point for the pesky neighbourhood cats. 

And I worked up some new lines for them both with groovy rainbow paracord and dinky tough-but-light carabiners.

And look at my veggie patch! Heh heh, stuff is growing! 

Now if only we could get some sun and heat I can go all self-sufficient. Not really. *g* But it's good, eh? EH?

life in Chateau DLM

I have been sewing!! But I can't show you my almost-finish since it's a gift.  Boo. 

But I have been sewing a skirt, too! An Arielle from Tilly and the Buttons. I think my chambray is on the thin side (I really wanted a light denim but this is VERY light) and I'm at the fitting stage. My waist and hips are different pattern sizes so I've had to do some pattern jiggery-pokery already but I think it might be quite nice!

And Chook and I planted seeds for our veggie raised bed last Saturday. This is our cabbages, broccoli, beetroot and cucumbers yesterday. Cool, eh? I've had a tomato pop up since then, too. I am a regular Percy Thrower. (national treasure British gardener, foreign peeps)

I'm off to see Mad Max tonight with the spouse and have gardening, dinner with the outlaws and sewing on the agenda this weekend. And riding, obvs. Ooh, look at this wee chap born last week. Four days old in this photo!

D'aaaw! Have a great night whatever you are up to!

building a planter

So what were we getting up to over last weekend? Well, a few weeks ago we finally got rid of Chook's trampoline since only the cats were using it! And we were left with this very open space to fill.  

Spouse has always had a hankering for a wee veggie patch (and I do mean small, our garden is tiny!) so a raised bed from railway sleepers seemed to fit the bill perfectly. And some height at the back to help camouflage that intrusive telegraph pole that we hate. 8ft sleeper lengths were purchased, measurements taken, angles marked and we hit the ground running.

Of course, after all our beautiful weather it was absolutely freezing cold on Saturday. I was wearing factor 50 sun cream at the hillclimb 2 weeks before - here I am sans makeup with my thermals on braving the bitter 1C. I was wearing a wooly beany most of the day, too! 

By end of play on Saturday our base was completed.

And at least it wasn't so cold on Sunday. It was the wettest day I have seen for a loooong time. But we were only putting up our trellis and tidying up.

And here it is in the sun today after getting its lining. Looks good, eh?

It's obviously got no soil in it (that's the next few days job) but I have my seeds and seedlings prepping. I'm going for the square foot gardening method to cram little amounts of lots of different things in. And my little gardener is raring to go. And Spouse impressed himself so much with his joinery (wood not being his chosen medium) he has plans for a matching pergola in the opposite corner. So I might have another busy weekend this week!!

what a cracking day, Grommit!

Today is my middle niece's birthday (it's my father-in-law's too but since he didn't get anything pretty - just boozy - I'm concentrating on her gift!) and if you remember her elder sister was given Bumble mouse and a matching picture for her birthday in March. Now since the girls are only 14 months apart in age, I like to give them things that are the same but different. And plus, Lucyfer (her family nickname) isn't really a mouse girl. But I wanted something for her new bedroom, too. And, I think I mentioned before, we had a week coz I forgot. Folksy to the rescue with a sock dragon and a pyrography trinket box!

Fab, right? The dragon is a really good size, about 9 inches high and bought from Starcross Crafts. I do love his wee bum button. The box is really cute and felt lined, big enough for one or two treasures and was from Burning Desire. Both had brilliant shipping times and were very reasonable. I do love dragons, though.....she has others.....

It's been a beautiful day here weather wise, too. So much so that my back garden finally got itself some TLC. Poor thing was looking very neglected. It still is - but at least it's weed free! We have plans for it later in the year once the wee loo is finished (that needs a post of its own - why are things never easy in this house?!?) I picked up a washing line to let the cats out, too. So I could be weeding and they could be free roaming. Jones LOVED it and was out for an hour and a half. Rolling, tangling himself around things, chasing bees.

 
Wee Temple is much more timid. But he was happy sniffing around until something spooked him. I think it was the foot pump for Chook's paddling pool (yes, it really was that warm!) and when he plucked up the courage to come back out he didn't like the toddler next door's squeaky voice. So he is a work-in-progress with the great outdoors. Funny, since he was the one who kept trying to escape - he actually succeeded on Sunday and we had a few frantic minutes scouring the garden for him! He was hiding between the wheelie bins. Bearing in mind he'd jumped out our bedroom window. Lunatic cat. This photo is yesterday - pre grass cutting and with his smart lead on.

I found these photos while looking for something else, too. My brother's Liberty pocket squares! The pattern is in the Liberty Love book. Pattern? For a hemmed square?

Well, yeah. Coz the corners are mitred! Fiddly but worth it.

One last shot of our lovely warm evening, my weeded garden and my upside down Chook.

It's to rain tomorrow. Back to the wee loo then! If Spouse isn't in Northern Ireland (like he's supposed to be) and if we can find the leak!

pterodactyl ptraining

We had a little excitement yesterday afternoon when we were visited by an escaped pet. I was having a wee seat watching some telly after a busy morning with stables and the groceries run (yuk) when I heard something thumping into our patio doors. When I went to look I was eyeballed by a rather large bird of prey trying to get into my kitchen! Here he is investigating Chookie's swing.

He was obviously tame as evidenced by his leather ankle straps and we thought he'd maybe done a bunk from a local show. You know the sort, man in a ring with a lure on a string and a flying falcon. We saw one not return to his owner last summer so assumed that was where he'd come from. I phoned the police who said they'd put out a call for him and get in touch with the animal people and the spouse donned his welding gloves and armed with some Sunday morning breakfast bacon set about entertaining him until someone got in touch.

 Well after 45 minutes of waiting I took matters into my own hands and phoned the SSPCA myself (to be fair, the second police desk lady said they were supposed to phone me right back and never did - so it wasn't the fed's fault) and after about thirty seconds of entering my postcode into her 'puter the nice lady said she had a report of a missing Harris hawk from the village next door. Bingo! So I phoned the owner direct and out he came. Of course, by this time ol' Harry had gotten bored and flown off. *face palm*  He flew back over our garden about 20 minutes later and the owner followed on foot a bit after but that was the last we saw of either of them. One of Chookie's pals said today that someone had retreived their hawk from her neighbours yesterday (she's the street next door) so it looks like it all ended well, at least. The guy said yesterday he'd been missing since last Sunday so presumably he was relieved and grateful - we will never know. *g* A bit of excitement on a weekend, though!

penguins, pigeons and patriotism.

Today at a glance.

Chook spent some money she'd been saving on Littlest Pet Shop animals. We could sell them (she tells me she has over 50!!) but they are her current favourite toy. I'm pointing out, too, that she took these two photos herself!!

 Friendship bands. I'm in an Eighties swap and the talk has turned to little extras. I used to make them at school but hadn't come across all the ace patterns that are about. The big one on Chook has hearts on but between the pink/purple combo (her choice!) and it being upside down it is hard to see. She made the wee skinny one herself! I couldn't believe it.

 I love when the seed tray gets emptied by the other birds and the clever doos (pigeons if you're not Scots) nick the small birds supper. Heh heh.

 And a union flag! Made from a pattern at Lilys Quilts with scraps of purple since I don't have 2 fat quarters of that particular colour. Sad or what?

And I whoosh away to iron! *hmph* Bye bye weekend!

enough with the snow!!

We were just about getting back to normal after the very early snows of last week. Roads were clear, poeple were getting to work, schools were back (people were still panic buying bread and petrol but they are nutters...). And then we had several more inches of the white stuff overnight. Grrr. It's pretty, though, and I haven't ever seen our phone lines look like Christmas garlands!

I was lucky(?!) enough to be able to walk into work this morning. The roads were pretty slippy (there were stuck lorries at the end of our road) and while we reckoned our "man car" would make it (that's spouse's moniker for our Forester!) I was worried about getting stuck at work in the car park. So on with the Doc Martens and iPod and off I went. It was really lovely - white and calm and hardly a soul about as the snow fell. And, even better, I got sent home at lunchtime when we closed the shop. Result!! Isn't my back garden bonnie? That snow looks like frosting - it must be the thawing/snowing/thawing process that makes it all fluffy like that.

The bad news is Cubs got cancelled tonight. So no naming for me or reindeer making. But we've also had to cancel the Christmas 10 pin bowling next week so we may do reindeer if it's on! Chook is really disappointed so I foolishly said I'd make Nigel something to cheer her up. She's picked a nice easy (!!!) bathrobe. Made from leftover minky. Eek.

very cherry delicious

Three years ago we planted a cherry tree in out back garden. It was tiny. Actually, it still is tiny - I think the Chookie may be taller than it - but we got a handful of morello cherries from it this year!! But what to do with them? They're for cooking but there's not nearly enough for a pie. Let alone jam. There really was only one option.
Muffins!! Two cherry muffins to be exact. Good job we had blueberries to bulk out the rest of the batter!!! Do you see sneaky fingers waiting for her first one?

I got the other one. It was delicious. And the really good thing?

The pear tree we planted at the same time has excelled itself this year and instead of the pair of pears we cropped last year? We've over a dozen. And you can just eat them. Woo-hoo!!