The caterpillars in the garden have literally eaten all the nasturtiums we have. There is nothing left but a lot of forlorn empty stalks. These pictures were taken about two weeks ago when there were still bits of leaves left. I don't think that orange one is the butterfly that comes from that caterpillar, though. I think it's a cabbage white caterpillar. Partner and I witnessed one such white butterfly laying eggs on some of the leaves. Now however, the caterpillars are searching for suitable accommodation for cocoons/chrysalises/whatever it is they metamorphose inside.

I have been thinking about putting in personalized labels in my handmade clothing. Embroidered, of course. I've been itching to get out the embroidery thread. The last time I embroidered was ages and ages ago: a little gold fire lizard on a background of pink flowers. I made it into a tiny bag which now holds my collection of buttons. Meager collection, I should say. I need more buttons. But then I suppose if I got more I'd need a bigger bag. That would give me an excuse to embroider something else. Maybe I'll do something like this passionflower below. It has lovely colors. Our archway is dripping with them and they've grown so far down we have to play limbo in order to reach the back garden.

Partner found some piano scores online and printed them off for me. I love them. It's always fun to get new music. I wish I didn't have so many other commitments and could concentrate more on my personal interests. Some of these interests are things I often blog about: gardening, piano playing, sewing, and painting. Oh, and computer and video gaming. Love the games. And while I don't hate work, it certainly takes up most of my time; time I'd rather spend doing stuff I really enjoy. Given the choice, I think anyone would choose Really Enjoy over Don't Hate. Still, as a realist, I know that work pays for my pleasure. I couldn't afford broadband, watercolor paper, packets of seeds, and so on, without earning money first. Though it's a little disheartening to see how much money I earn versus how much money I need to pay the bills; there's not a lot of surplus. I guess I'm lucky my pleasures are so cheap.

I cut up one of Partner's old shirts and sewed myself a camisole of it. He'd torn through a few of the buttonholes and it couldn't really be fixed, but I didn't like to throw it out. The fabric is soft and 100% cotton. So I tried a little experiment with the help of my friendly Venus de Duct Tape. I got the stripes almost even. At least, they're even in the back. You can see my tan lines a little in the second picture. Last month in London I got a mighty sunburn. I don't want to be tan and I abhor tan lines; I was hoping it would peel, leaving my skin unmarred. This was not to be. At least I had sunscreen in my facial moisturizer and my face was unscathed. Some people say I'm white, or pallid even. I like to say ivory.

I think I'll fix myself up next time I model a fashion creation. I kind of look like I just rolled out of bed without combing my hair. Which is true.

I spent yesterday mostly sewing. I don't understand it, but doing so simply eats away at the time. I thought I'd been working for maybe half an hour and was stunned to see three hours had passed, and half a shirt is what I have to show for it. It's a cute white and red flower print with a Mandarin collar, red piping, and will soon have off-center little red butterfly closures. I used the same blouse pattern I used for the last shirt I made, just removed the sleeves and changed the collar. We went to Ikea the other week and I bought about two meters each of two cute fabrics. And I got Partner to take a picture of me wearing my new clothing. Ok, so it's nothing special. But I made it all by myself and that means a lot to me.

I actually went out in the garden and pulled some weeds today. This is unlike me. I haven't done much gardening for the past month. Summer is, however, more about maintenance than actual work: this is my excuse for not doing any. I deadhead my flowers and that's enough for me. They have gotten big enough so that they mostly suppress the weeds anyway. However, my new asparagus bed was overflowing with volunteer poppies, drowning the poor baby asparagus and I bit the bullet and got it razed. While out there, I picked a variety of bouquets, then took a few snaps for your viewing pleasure.

I'm quite happy with my lilies; they were a new acquisition this spring. I hope they keep coming back. And of course my old favorites, the orange dahlias; what would I do without them? Probably have very sparse flower arrangements. The one you see before you is the pretty much my first dahlia of the season. Oh, and my collection of doilies come from my mother's and grandmother's respective stashes. I love a nice doily.

When I got home from work yesterday I was astonished to see the sofa cushion covers washed, the lawn mowed, and the computer room slightly tidied. For Partner, this is a very big deal. He doesn't normally have this kind of initiative. When I got a full-time job, he promised he would take over half the housework from me (during my part-time years I did most of the household chores). I think he forgot that he ever made such a promise. Or maybe (charitably speaking) he doesn't realize just how much housework there actually is. He does dishes and occasionally sparks up the vacuum cleaner. He used to brush out the toilet once in a while but I think he's stopped doing that. If I ask him to do stuff, he's pretty good about doing it. But it sucks to keep having to ask. It feels like he's doing me a favor when he does it because I ask. It doesn't feel like equal division of labor. So maybe this is the start of a new trend.

This morning while hunting as a pack (aka taking the dog for a walk), Partner and I saw thirteen tiny ducklings, only just hatched. Most of the ducklings on the pond are now burly adolescents who've left home already. These ducklings had two mommies who shouted at the dog every time she tried to get a closer look. So cute.

I've nearly finished the blue starred skirt I had in mind. Well, when I say nearly finished, I mean I need to put on the waistband, the sash, and hem the bugger. But I drafted a very successful pattern when fits me exceptionally well. I made liberal use of the tape measure and straight edge. I plan on finishing it today and I may have enough material left over to make a top. The only downside to making my own patterns is sewing projects take a lot of time. I have to make the pattern first, then figure out how it's supposed to all fit together. I think I've worked out the skirt though; maybe I should write myself directions on the pattern for next time. I've been using newspaper sheets glued together to cut out patterns. It seems to work quite well. Back when I was a teenager I used brown paper bags. You don't get them in this country, though.




A few runner beans next to a flowerbed, taken this morning. All the latest garden photos are at:
http://s6.photobucket.com/albums/y213/cosmicharley/Garden%20of%20Galadriel/July%202008/

I finished the white blouse earlier today and I'm happy to say it fits perfectly and is super cute. I will try and get a proper photo of me in it. This last weekend Partner and I went shopping and I bought three yards each of blue star print and white and red polka dot cotton fabric. I have visions of a light polka dot dress and possibly a blue skirt. However, I'm not entirely decided and what I want the most for my wardrobe at the moment are cute tops. So I'll just have to see. Shopping was great fun, though, and I saw all kinds of prints I would have loved to have bought, if only they were 100% cotton. I didn't want any polyester.

We went to the indoor market at Leeds and I took photos as promised. My father-in-law kindly donated his old phone to Partner who in turn bequeathed it to me; it takes much better photos than my old phone. I wanted to take a picture of a halibut at the fish market, but the best I could do was turbot. Still, as a flatfish, it's pretty darn cool. Since it swims on the bottom of the ocean, its eyes are on the top of its head, but unlike a normal fish with a dorsal fin on top and arms on either side, it evolved so that it actually swims on its side with an arm on top and bottom and the dorsal fin on one side. It's so freakish and utterly neat.



Red snapper on the left, and those little bundles are razorfish (actually a type of shellfish)



Mackerel



This is the turbot. You kind kinda make out its asymmetric eyes. Cool, huh?




Various fish in bins



More random fishies

Here is the nearly finished first sewing project. I only need to add buttons and buttonholes--everything else is completely done. I'm really happy with the design of it, and I will definitely use the pattern again, though I may modify the sleeves and collar, and possibly make it more fitted around the waist. There are some slight flaws to the attachment of the lining which you totally cannot see from the outside, but I will have to work on it next time. I couldn't work out how to attach the sleeves and the sleeve lining smoothly, so unfortunately there is a raw edge on the inside there. And I need to figure out how to do the hem attached to the lining as well. Still, all in all I'm very pleased, especially since I not only sewed it myself, but designed and drafted the pattern myself. Oh, and it's being modeled not by the Venus de Milo but by my aforementioned duct tape dressmaker's form. I found some very helpful pattern-making resources online for making the sleeves and collar, and for help in utilizing the blind hem stitch option on my sewing machine, including:

http://vintagesewing.info/1940s/42-mpd/mpd-02.html#measurements
http://www.burdastyle.com/howtos/show/218
http://www.freesewingpattern.net/freesewingpattern01.php
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdKe9crSHac

I have a few other projects in mind for some bits of material I have hanging about the place. I have about two or so yards of some red satiny material and about a yard of some gray woolly stuff (it may have once been a blanket). I might put them together to make a gray jacket with red lining, or I might do them separately as a red dress and a gray skirt. I also want to make a trip to the fabric store and pick up any bargains I can find. My only prerequisite is that the material be made of a natural fiber such as cotton or linen. I looked through a few shops while in London but most of the material looked like it ought to be a curtain or possibly a pair of disco pants.

I am an avid follower of several blogs, and am always interested in other people's pictures, so I will try and break out my camera more often and post more photos. As one blogger put it, what fun is a blog without pictures?

Partner wrapped me up in two rolls of duct tape last week to make a dressmaker's form. It was incredibly uncomfortable, but once I was cut out of it and stuffed it, the thing is a pretty near double of my shape and size. I've already begun making a pattern on it for a shirt. I can foresee that making patterns will be much much easier. Before, I basically had to work things out on myself in front of a mirror. Now I can pin and tuck and cut efficiently.

I spent the last week in London with a cousin, mostly trying to find great landmarks and getting lost in the process. We saw a West End musical, a Leicester Square film, several museums, and all sorts of comings and goings. I actually think my favorite place was the street we went shopping in East London with all the charity shops and cheap clothing stores. I bought a new pair of shoes (bit of a shock--I haven't bought shoes in years), a couple books, and some hand-embroidered doilies. I love nice handmade doilies and tablecloths and the like, especially embroidered. I like old jugs and bowls and vases for flower arrangements, though I didn't find any this time. I also adore rhinestone brooches and I always have a look for them (once I found a gorgeous silver dragonfly). I used to just look at clothing in charity shops, but now it's more household items.

The cousin is now (hopefully) back home, as am I. It's good to be back--I hadn't seen Partner in a week, though now we're home he's downstairs on the edge of his seat watching a car race. The house is only slightly untidy. And he cooked himself dinner every night while I was gone, he claims. I'm impressed. Clever man.

These daisies grow abundantly everywhere in my garden. Partner assures me they didn't come from a wildflower seed packet, but actually are weeds. I think they're great, looking equally fabulous indoors or out. And if they creep into already occupied beds, they're easy enough to pull out.



I've spent the last hour or so tidying up in my house, but there doesn't seem to be any noticeable difference. I did, however, find a few old letters I sent to Partner before we got married, one of which was on homemade stationary. I remember the events happening which I describe in the letter, but I don't remember making the stationary at all. I recognize my own drawing style, so I do know it's mine, but what a surprise to see it. Actually, while I'll often remember things I wrote down years ago, more than once I've found old drawings I don't recall at all.


















All June garden photos are here:
http://s6.photobucket.com/albums/y213/cosmicharley/Garden%20of%20Galadriel/June%202008/

Back from a whirlwind trip to Belgium, I'm completely exhausted. We tried Belgian waffles, beer, and chocolates. To tell the truth, of those three I liked the beer the best, and I'm not even a beer drinker. We went to an art museum in Bruges, had a look around a fruit and flower market, and nearly got run over by several bicycles over the course of four days; there were a Lot of Bicycles. We found out at the end of our trip that you can borrow a bicycle for free at the town where we stayed. If we ever go back I'll want to try it. I took some pictures but only got one picture taken of me. As we were walking along a residential area in Bruges, I took notice of some of the doors that we passed and took a few pictures to show my mother; I thought she might like to see the handle in the center of the door. It was only by chance that I happened to see this particular one with the door above. I have no idea why there is a door above. It was obviously not built with a balcony, and both doors are much smaller and more old-fashioned than the one next to them. I also took several photos of the churches we visited. I'm not sure why, but a lot of my pictures turned out a bit blurry. I think that since the resolution was so high it was extremely motion sensitive. I got some decent photos, regardless.

It rained a lot while we were gone and all my new plants grew about six inches in those four days. My bulb irises are all in flower, as are some of my roses, my montana clematis, and lupins. It's a good time for flower arranging. Two of my favorite bouquet fillers are simply weeds that grow everywhere: daisies and cow parsley. I did three arrangements for the house today and then Partner said, "Can I pick one too?" He filled my lovely green jug with red peonies and purple lupin. I think he used the Golden Ratio when arranging it: it looks really simple and nice. I kind of try for the Ratio in my artistic efforts (especially photos), though it doesn't seem to appear much in my flower arrangements.

I made myself a pair of pyjama pants recently with some material I had lying around. I've got a matching top to finish as well. I was thinking I might do a little embroidery on the top, though I haven't decided what. It's a plain white cotton camisole with red gingham straps and edging. The bottoms are the same white cotton with gingham patchwork panels going up the outside of each leg. I thought I might make Partner a similar pair but maybe without the patchwork. Or maybe with. He told me I ought to wear them to his Grateful Dead tribute concert next month. Maybe he secretly cherishes the notion of dressing like a hip'n'happenin'hippie. I have a block of corduroy patchwork I made back in the day when I was a trendy hippie, but even then I never wore patchwork trousies. The block is leftover from a shoulder bag.

Complete Belgium photos:
http://s6.photobucket.com/albums/y213/cosmicharley/Belgium%202008/

Some of those seedlings have been transplanted and are happy in the ground. The runner beans fiercely love their new bamboo canes. A dahlia and a zinnia both got torn stems and needed emergency reconstructive surgery using medical tape; both are recovering. The snails really like zinnias and cosmos, but I think most of them are ok. And somehow snails invaded the greenhouse to eat holes in my basil. I have no idea how they climbed the rungs. I did find a big snail caught between the bars of the barbecue out back. It's just a thin metal grill really--no way a snail could slime its way on. I think a bird dropped it from above. We do have snail-eating thrushes who come all the time and tap tap tap on the snails' doors. Then I find empty shells on the patio and feel all warm inside. When I catch them I just step on them. My gramma used to salt them, but I think that's unnecessarily cruel. Just get it over quickly.

Partner and I are going to Belgium next week. I don't know much about this country other than they have two languages, don't have strict laws governing the ingredients in beer, and have a yearly Formula One race. But Partner really likes it there, and I'm looking forward to seeing Hieronymus Bosch paintings.

I got myself a bit of a sunburn yesterday while gardening. All my seedlings need to go in, but my spring bulbs aren't even finished yet. So a few key beds are still unavailable and my seedlings are languishing in my greenhouse. While tidying up some beds earlier in the week, I discovered one of my shrubs had propagated itself by layer which means a branch resting on the ground grew roots. There were two of these new shrubs so I was happy to move them to an empty shady corner. I don't even know what kind of shrub it is, other than it is evergreen and has tiny pink flowers. I also found that a few delphiniums that I planted last year did not in fact drown as I had thought.

We saw A Midsummer Night's Dream, an opera by Benjamin Britten. Talk about cool. Who knew that an opera could be funny? And have appeal to children? Or that counter-tenors could have major roles? The music was really weird, the set design and costumes were really weird, the lighting was really weird. But weird as in weird and wonderful rather than weird and wrong. I've never had so much fun at an opera. We saw Don Giovanni a while back, also sung in English, but it was a bit ho-hum and the end was dreadfully anti-climactic. In Amadeus, the staged bit of Don Giovanni ends with the don being confronted with his sins and facing an eternity of torment--a suitably dark ending with him plunging into the pit. In actuality, it ends with the cast singing a sickeningly chirpy little number about sinners burning in hell. A Midsummer Night's Dream was so much better than Swan Lake, I thought, even though of course they are two different genres and even musical periods. I always considered that I preferred Romantic era music above all else, but I have decided Tchaikowsky, at least, is boring. Bring on the utter weirdness of the Twentieth Century.

I'm learning, albeit erratically, Rhapsody in Blue for piano. I've got sheet music and a CD sans piano (though I haven't progressed that far yet). It's a tough piece, encompassing a lot of jazzy chords at a very fast pace. And at about fifty pages or so, the length can be daunting. It's good for my sight-reading skills. I rather wish I had more time to devote to the piano. One of my friends in high school was quite regimental about her practicing and the results were excellent.

Today being the first real warm sunny day this spring, I spent a few hours in the garden, both planting, weeding, and working on a painting; in other words, I spent the day getting dirty. I ordered several plants via a catalogue this year, and nearly all of them have arrived and been planted. Two I'm excited about: asparagus and rhubarb. Both are just beginning to sprout, having been in the ground for a few weeks now. The only problem is I have to wait till next year before I can harvest them. Still, I'm very confident it'll be worth the wait.

Partner is downstairs with his guitar students. The little girl is about nine I think, and she's a beginner, but I think the lesson is getting frustrating for her. They are just working on one thing over and over again. I think if they were my students, I'd take a break from the hard stuff to work on the fun stuff, then back to the hard stuff. Otherwise she might get too bored and annoyed with herself for not seeming to advance, and just give up altogether. I think learning a skill has more to do with the abilities of the teacher than the student. But I do think Partner is very good at guitar and he is enthusiastic about it.

At last I got the snow I've been dreaming of, even though it came on Easter day, which spoiled my plans for an egg hunt. Then again, it's virtually impossible to dye eggs here, as they only seem to sell the brown ones at the stores. The only white eggs I've seen here were duck eggs at a market. Once. I made my snowman, threw my snowball, and had a good munch on a bit of clean snow off a shrub (never off the ground--the dog uses our back yard as a toilet). So all my snow cravings have been filled--except one: I didn't have enough snow to build a snow fort and initiate a snowball battle.

The snow lasted most of the afternoon, but by evening it had begun to melt and my snowman was the only bit of snow left over the next day. And even he was just a snowtot by then.

We went to see Swan Lake last week, Partner and I. Though the music was pretty schmaltzy, the swan, Odette, was excellent. However, I thought the story was a bit confusing. And here I thought it was about swans on a lake, but it was really about this prince and he doesn't even meet Odette or any swans until the fourth act. And the whole time I thought the black swan was Odette's mean husband which is why she kept running away from the prince (well, that and the fact he kept pointing a crossbow at her). Then at the end she throws herself into the lake--silly way for a swan to die, because everyone knows they are inherently buoyant. And I'm not even sure why she kills herself, because the prince was there to save her and she just kept running away from him. So my marks are as follows: Dancing: A, Sets and Scenery: A, Storyline: C-, Music: C. And, I might add, I enjoyed seeing those skin-tight trousers on the male dancers. It's a bit of role reversal when the women are all angular and the men are the one with the excellent curves on the back, on the legs, on the bottom...

All my Easter photos are here:
http://s6.photobucket.com/albums/y213/cosmicharley/Garden%20of%20Galadriel%20Easter%202008/?albumview=grid

I've been in bed for the past couple days but I've found it in me to wobble out and have a go on the computer this morning. I was awakened at nine by a knocking on the door. Hoping it was a delivery of plants I'd ordered, I blearily opened the bedroom window. But it was just a man asking if I had any scrap metal. I don't know if he was shocked at my haystack hair; I didn't have my glasses on. I'm sure in his world, all reasonable people are up and awake, ready to meet callers at nine AM.

So while I've been in bed, Partner's been in charge of the housekeeping. He got really excited at the prospect of laundry, which he is normally not allowed to touch. He said, I'm going to do all the towels together. I said, don't you dare put the white towels in with the dark towels!

My trays of seedlings are excitingly full of greenery now, and the cuttings I took are still not dead yet. I had a look around my garden and some volunteer snapdragons have invited themselves in already. I didn't have any last year, even though I like them so much. They just seem to self-seed in the oddest places. I wonder if they could be increased through cuttings or something. Or maybe I should just gather them all in one place, rather than leaving them randomly dotted about. I've got one in the front that keeps coming back year after year, though it's under a hebe bush. Obviously it's been there longer than the bush, yet the hebe has been here longer than I have. I wonder if it would mind being moved to a more comfortable location?

I noticed on our walk yesterday the ducks at the pond are swimming in twos and Partner swears he saw frog eggs there the other day but to be honest I didn't look very hard. Dog rolled in something foul. I turned around to see her working her back into it with a big grin. So it was straight upstairs into the bathtub when we got home.

Making the most of the sunshine and relative warmth outside, I did some heavy-duty weeding and hoeing today (and now my hands are numb). The weeds came up easily as the soil is quite damp; even the tenth generation dandelions gave little fight. The only stubborn ones: the nettles. But I persevered and they are all at the bottom of the bin. It's a lovely day for working in the garden; I must have spent about an hour out there. The dog was bored though, and kept asking me if she could go back inside. I kind of like to keep an eye on her when I'm at home as she likes to get into mischief. No doubt she had plans to jump on all the furniture and turn on bad daytime tv very loudly while eating cookies and getting crumbs on the floor. Which is what I suspect she does when she's home alone.

A runaway bunny appeared in our yard the other morning. White and fluffy with lop ears, it obviously had owners, but as to who or where, I had no clue. To be honest, I wouldn't have minded it staying but it was nibbling my new spring growth in the garden. So I went out and introduced myself and it eventually allowed me near enough to stroke and then grab. After a very brief struggle, it stayed still in my arms and I brought it inside. The dog met us at the door with the happiest look on her face: all her dreams had just come true. "It's for me! It's for me!" she shouted for joy as she bounced up and down. It was soon apparent to her than the rabbit was actually for me, so she rushed outside happily to catch one of her own, giving me a chance to hustle the bunny upstairs into the bathroom to await an owner. I figured a little cottontail could do the least damage there as far as munching and pelleting. After a morning of asking around, someone finally turned up at the door to claim it. A mother and her two children whisked it away gratefully (the little boy kept saying, "Wasn't it nice of her to take care of him?" As if he'd expected me to be mean to a widdle wabbit) and another adventure ends well.

Yesterday a freezing fog hung thick all day in our area. Every outline, from twigs on trees, to blades of grass and forgotten cobwebs was individually outlined in pure white frost. While lovely to look at, it was bitterly cold; the heat was off in the house when I got home from work and I never recovered from the chill. Even today I still have a little residual shiver. I think maybe one of my houseplants got frostbite; the poor thing wilts listlessly today. The daffodils rolled over and played dead, but in the slightly warmer temperatures today (compared to yesterday it's practically balmy) they are frolicking again.

Partner got me some French piano music from the turn of the twentieth century: Satie and Debussy. The word I use to describe them: Weird. Ok, even Bach can be weird but at least when he's not making sense, he's still sticking to form. These late French composers don't really have forms. Satie doesn't like key signatures, time signatures, tempos, or any kind of notation at all whatsoever. It seems more like rambling impromptu stuff rather than actual music written down for other people to play. And Debussy...don't get me started. He writes using three staves; I can't decide if the music is meant to be played by two people or a three-armed megamonkey. And I'm neither.

Partner's laptop is offline for the time being and there is a marked improvement in internet loading times. I bet the rest of the computer processes are speeded up too though I haven't tried them yet. He clogs up the network with his constant downloading of very large music files. He's done it for so long, I'd forgotten how fast the connection really ought to be.

The first of my many daffodils opened today. I've had three crocuses make an appearance--I'm hoping for more. I planted them in the lawn last year. The frogs in the pond are pairing up. And I had the most peculiar feeling as I waited for my laundry to dry outside...a feeling I haven't had in many months: a sudden urge to visit the garden center. It was such a strong compulsion I couldn't resist and returned with several packets of seeds, a few bags of gladiolas, and a sack of potting compost.

A very unsightly hole marks the back of my hand where a big drop of hot grease splattered me at work. It blistered, broke, and made a near-perfect circle, but it looks like a disreputable injury. Rather like a cigarette burn or something. I was cooking about twenty steaks on the griddle during the dinner time rush and grease was flying and a particularly pernicious globule struck. I can remember shaking my hand and seeing an angry red mark, but not thinking much of it at the time. I've had plenty of time to ponder it since. Last time I burnt myself badly (a fiery hot potato exploded in the palm of my hand) I applied ice for several hours and escaped a blister.

I had the quietest haircut of my life last week. I figured it was about time I got rid of the split ends and stopped into a cheapie salon in town for a quick trim. The only words the hairdresser said to me were: "how much do you want off?" and "that's £5.50." Maybe I exaggerate slightly, but there was absolutely no small talk involved whatsoever. Personally I don't find it easy to make small talk with strangers. But really. You don't go in for a haircut, you go in for a forced chat about your personal life. I feel gypped.

I was only relieved of about two inches of hair. On the whole it is much neater and not so ragged. I think I will have to get another inch off in a few months, to annihilate the next generation of split ends before they take over. I read in the style section of the newspaper that the best way to be stylish is to have a good haircut. It didn't actually say what constitutes a good haircut. So I can't tell if I'm stylish or not.

Now at the advanced age of 27, I have ventured into the strange realm of skincare. In my past, skincare has been random and sporadic. Maybe a dab of sunscreen in the summer, a tube of face wash once in a great while, application of makeup rarely though amateurishly. But now I contemplate my age and my future. I am on the downhill slide of youth and soon I will be climbing the hill of middle age. Obviously I have a few more years of the youthy slidey bit, but I can see that hill a'coming. And so I have bought a few skincare products. One is a moisturizer which slightly intimidates me. Along with the usual "light, non-greasy" spiel, it claims to reveal younger looking skin upon use. When I bought it, I kind of just looked at the front label for a 15 SPF and it was really the first to hand. I also bought an exfoliating facial wash, which upon closer examination claims the same as the moisturizer. I can't believe I'm so old that I need beauty tonics for my face to make me look younger. I can't believe I'm so old that I need to look younger.

Partner got a laser mouse for his laptop. The kind without a roller thingie. So I type this on his laptop and try out his mouse. But it's hard to balance the computer on my lap and maneuver the mouse without a mousepad.

The dog and I went on Walkies though really today it should be termed as Swimmies. There is a reclaimed mine area a few blocks from our house which is something between a wildlife refuge and a public park. We almost always go there for our walk. The paths today were running with rainwater and the ponds were overflowing. Beauty sprinted across the football pitch (soccer field) and did a Moses impression. When we got home it was straight upstairs to the bathtub for a rinse.

I've registered for an online correspondence course for next September. I'm going to study IT and computing. I want a BSc. And then I'll be cool. I've tried my best to register for universities around here but it's stumped me. They have a cut-off date for applications and classes all start in the fall. My dad's university is much easier to register for and students can join in at the start of semesters, rather than the start of the academic year. The cut-off date here is in January. And they don't make it easy for foreign nationals to become students. They wanted me to pick what school I went to from a drop-down menu--seeing as I didn't attend school in this country I couldn't complete that part of the application, rendering the entire document void. But registering for online courses seemed easy enough and a lot cheaper and I don't have to give up my job to study.

I had a fun birthday and Christmas. Partner got me some new art supplies. I think he is hinting I should be working on it more. As a child and teenager I drew constantly, always practicing. Then I kind of gave up because I had more pressing concerns, not the least of which I was afraid of being merely mediocre. I am mediocre. Oh well. I can only improve. Same with my piano playing. I'm not overly talented, I just practiced enough when I was younger to become proficient, not brilliant. I think some people used to have the misconception about me that I was good at everything. It wasn't inherent. I just tried harder than those people. These days, my candle is slightly obscured by a bushel. I don't think people consider me so accomplished any more.

I did practice with my new art supplies today. I painted my nude redheaded woman. She's a subject I fall back on a lot. I'm working on her. I used to do fantasy illustration. Mermaids and princesses were a repeating motif. And unicorns. And roses. I haven't done a good rose in a long time. I looked at one of my friend's notebook a little while ago and was stunned at how much his technique has improved compared to mine. We both used to do dragons but now his leave mine in the dust. Though I admit it's been a while since I've done a dragon.

My hair has grown quite long in the past year since I haven't had it cut. It falls barely past my ribs now but it needs trimming of excess split ends. In 2003 it was about an inch long. Now at the end of 2007 it's just about two feet long.

I think pretty much all of my Christmas shopping is done. I enjoy spending money but I abhor fighting through crowds. Internet shopping is the way forward. I left my medium coat at my mother-in-law's house so I've been choosing between my light jacket and heavy coat to go out in. The heavy coat is lovely and warm but weighs a lot (it's wool and reaches below my knees) so I get tired out quicker when I wear it. My medium coat is also wool but just goes to my hips. And it's bright red. So it's my favorite. I need it back.

It's about time I went and took the dog for walkies. There difference between unwalked and post-walked behavior is markedly different. The unwalked dog is tense and irritating. The post-walked dog is calm and obedient. When she doesn't get walked for a few days she starts to act out. I call it walkie frustration.

My garden is still flowering though slowing down rapidly. A few chilly nights have taken the top layer of leaves off my nasturtiums and dahlias though officially it has not yet frozen at our house. A few evenings as I've left work I've needed to scrape ice off the car, but seven miles away in my yard the frost hasn't yet penetrated.

Someone gave Partner about five boxes of old National Geographic magazines. I enjoy this august organ as well as any moderately informed citizen of a first world nation, but--five boxes. In my living room. Have I mentioned Partner and his unhealthy fetish for junk? I do my best to simplify our surroundings and minimalize unnecessary clutter. I find that an uncluttered space is a relaxing space. Partner seems to need things because someone gave it to him ten years ago and it still fits fine even if it's got three holes and an oil slick down the front. For example.

[complain] I distinctly remember when I took my full-time job, Partner promised to perform half of the household chores, because I now work equal (or greater) hours to himself outside the home. I feel this bargain has not yet been fulfilled. Today, my day off, the chores loom. I don't remember the last time I had a fun day off on my own (we generally do not have the same days off) . Partner says I should laze around all day in my bathrobe. He only says this so he'll feel justified in doing it himself when it's his day off. [/complain]

This is my 100th post.

Every time I go to write in my blog I seem to be so exhausted I can't think of anything coherent to write about. Today is not much different. I got home from work an hour and a half ago, went on walkies with Partner and the dog, got rained on, came home and want to eat a big three-course dinner while soaking in the bath. I don't think it will happen. Partner is downstairs and I can hear him snoring from here.

So we got a kitchen floor after all. Partner persuaded me to go to a closing down sale at a home improvement center and there was some very cheap flooring which is now in the kitchen. It looks so much better now. Curtains will be next. And some wall hangings of a sort. I was thinking of creating some very large abstract art to go on one wall. Very large and very red. Or I might go for a more traditional look with some classic prints. Right now we have a Monet on one wall and two original Chinese watercolors on the other.

Whether this is coherent or not, I cannot say. I will leave it for the reader to decide and head downstairs to find some food.

We painted over that awful olive drab on the kitchen walls. It looks very bright but also a bit stark. It needs a floor and some curtains. We promised ourselves we'd buy a floor in the after-Christmas sales. I want a laminate floor. To tell the truth I'd like a new cabinet layout and countertops as well but I think I'll have to wait a bit longer for that. Slowly the house transforms.

Our dog likes tea. Last week Partner put his cup of tea on the floor next to his chair in the living room and a few minutes later we heard a loud slurping noise. As a further experiment, last night Partner poured her a little bowl out of what was left of the teapot and she drank it dry. It was Earl Grey; she has a sophisticated palate. However, she also rolled in poo yesterday so even though she's a bit of an epicure, she's still disgusting.

I bought another big bag of daffodil bulbs tonight. I told Partner I'm a sucker for bulbs. That will bring my total daffodil bulbs somewhere in the vicinity of 300. Now if I can bring up my tulip/iris/hyacinth totals that high too...yowzers. That would be AweSome. I had a look at some clearance plants at the garden center as well but they weren't clear enough for me to buy them. I saw some peonies on special but they looked a bit dead, and some cherry trees that had no tags so I didn't know if they were eating cherries or just ornamentals. But the daffodils looked great. They'll be going in the ground early next week I think.

It's just about bedtime for me. I got up very early this morning to cook breakfast at work. I like working breakfast because it means I don't have to work evenings. I can manage five o'clock wake up calls. If I have to.

It feels like fall. I'm sorely unprepared for the weather when it comes to my wardrobe. But I'm also completely broke. Broke is a bad position to be when one needs clothes. I haven't bought clothes for about a year now. I've also lost weight so my clothes are all a bit big on me.

The dog keeps tearing off new growth on my newly planted rosebushes. When she wants to get past she just bounds through them and if any branches snag on her coat, she takes them with her. So far she's carried off about three twelve-inch lengths. I asked Partner to build a little barrier to hold until they get bigger and stronger, but it doesn't deter her. I used a bunch of bamboo canes and made a little wall today. I hope it holds.

Excuse me while I faint or cry or both. My workweek has expanded to 50+ hours and while I need the money, for five days a week I do nothing but sleep, eat, and work. Literally. Then on my day off I catch up on all the housework, because while I seem to do twice as much working outside the home, I still seem to have the same amount of chores to do at home. It just doesn't seem right. And Partner spends all my money. At least, I don't spend any of it, and I still see food in the fridge and diesel in the car.

I suggested to Partner that for Christmas this year we buy each other things we need, such as a kitchen floor. We still don't have one. I think it's been two years now. Me personally, I want a few things for the garden, such as three bags of tulip bulbs and a cherry tree. I also want some new clothes seeing as I'm going a bit threadbare. I think Partner could use some new clothes too. He loves new socks. Whereas I dislike socks in general and avoid them wherever possible.

We've been without internet and phone access here at the house for five days but finally got it back on today. We've had to use our cell phones to communicate with the outside world but no email or online banking.

I've gone from a weekly paycheck to a monthly paycheck and it's been a bit tough this past month. But since I'm getting paid tomorrow hopefully things will be a little easier. I've also switched from part time to a full time position; my pay ought to be a bit higher.

It's been a great year for mosquitoes here. I think we have an army of them living in the house, making themselves coffee and watching soap operas while we're out. And then feasting on our blood when we come back. They're just floating past the computer screen as I type, minding their own business, not doing any harm. But those are just diversionary tactics while a stealth battalion creeps up from the rear, guerrilla-style, to perform a shock and awe attack, only to disappear back into the woodwork. By the time I hear the whining of a hundred tiny wings, it's too late. I must say, these mosquitoes know a lot about demoralization.

I keep burning myself at work. My hands are covered in burn marks--mostly from the heat lamps. I try to keep my hands nice by wearing gloves when using cleaning chemicals or washing dishes and of course eating healthily and drinking plenty of water. All so I can have small soft hands covered in burn scars.

The dog and I went on walkies by ourselves for the first time in weeks. With my new hours I have no time or energy for the dog so Partner usually takes her out. I like to go out with her when it's nice weather.

I just returned from a three-day stint in Germany. I flew there to meet my father who was there on business and we had a fine old time. I sampled some local cuisine, including black bread (schwartzbrot, I think) and lots and lots of pig-derived meat. I also had a very tasty pastry item with hazelnuts and chocolate. My dad thought it would be sickly sweet. It wasn't. The city we were in was very green and pretty. And public transport everywhere. Trains, trams, buses, even cable-car thingies. We stuck to the train, as it took us from the town center to our hotel. And I like euros. Things were cheaper because the euro is worth less than the pound.

But I am glad to be back home. Partner couldn't come with me and I've missed him. He's still at work so I haven't seen him yet; his mother picked me up from the airport. And the dog stayed with her while I was gone--luckily she doesn't seem to hate me for abandoning her. But she has been looking for Partner. I think she's missed him as much as I have. And I know Partner missed me because there was a pile of dishes and a basket of laundry waiting for me. (He's not allowed to do laundry but he IS allowed to do dishes.)

Ode to Beauty

How much poo

Could a little dog poo

If a little dog widdled and pooed?

She'd poo all she could

That little dog would

If a little dog widdled and pooed.

I don't know how one dog can generate so much fecal matter. I collect a whole shopping bag full every week. I know it's only hers because the yard is air-tight. No dogs get in or out. And it's not like she's a Rottweiler or anything. She's just a little terrier. But she can perform miracles: turning water (or something) into poo.

I think our two weeks of summer may now be over. It is distinctly cooler with a lot of cloud and rain again. And to think, two weeks ago I was sunburned.

I pulled up some of our carrots and made them into soup last night. It was pretty darn yummy. I also pulled up a few beets for our dinner. Our peas and beans are also steadily increasing but it's been a bad year for tomatoes. I doubt we'll get much. My selection of cut flowers has been so-so. I've been picking vases but have to be creative in order to induce any sort of variety. I have plenty of carnations and the roses aren't doing too badly. And the dahlias are beginning to show. That's all, really.

I've been taking to locking the dog in the living room in the mornings because she tries to destroy any mail that gets delivered. She'll begin by barking and bouncing, and as soon as the letters slide through the slot she'll grab them and start ripping. If no one is there to stop her, she'll attempt to take them outside and bury the evidence. Luckily most important mail is in stiff envelopes. The flimsy junk mail takes the brunt of her anger.

At last we've had almost a week of sunny weather with no rain. I've been celebrating by hanging my laundry on the line and watering my hanging baskets and other patio containers. Haven't done that in a while.

Partner and I were given a sofa and two matching chairs by a relative who didn't want them any more. Our old couch is currently hanging out in the dining room but only temporarily I hope. I want to get rid of it but I'm not sure anyone will want to take it except the dump. It's hopelessly ripped and needs new slipcovers desperately. I do kind of like having a couch in the dining room, however. It's a south-facing room with a very big glass sliding door and is lovely to sit in the sun on a comfy seat during the morning. The dog thinks so too.

I have a week off work at the end of August and am going to spend a few days in Germany with my father. Partner can't get the time off work so I get to go alone. I'm slightly nervous about flying to a foreign country on my own, but I'm counting on the fact that the airport staff will speak English. Or at least someone will. Because I have to find my own way from the airport to the hotel. It's a bit scary.

We had guests over last night for dinner and a drink and I had a good time. Two of my work colleagues whom I am particular friends with arrived at seven and when they left at eleven thirty it seemed to me like no time had passed. I certainly hope it was the same for them. I made dinner and while it tasted nice I rather thought it was unremarkable. But the flowers...the flowers were spectacular. I picked three vases for the living, dining, and bathroom and all that research on flower arrangement has paid off. I haven't had many flowers to work with for the past few weeks; the first flush of roses is over and while they're budding up again, I haven't had any blooms and the rain has slowed down a lot of the growth on my other flowers. Or any flowers I do have don't last well when cut, such as my poppies. I love the poppies but they can last only a few hours indoors.

I'm surprised how early I got up today and might go back to bed.

What with all the rain we've had lately, a lot of my seedlings have disappeared. I just wish the rain would drown my weeds as well. I went out and bought some replacement plants at the garden center and picked up a few bargains as well. I got four rosebushes for the price of one and now I have to decide where to put them. I still have a dream of picking bowls of roses. One house we lived in when I was a kid had a hedge of pink roses surrounding part of the garden. I didn't appreciate them then but I would love it now.

I hung a few of my paintings on the walls. I want to paint more. I'm thinking of branching out into landscapes. I love painting flowers but I think there's only so many flowers one can put on one's walls.

My foot is a lot better and so long as I keep it completely level when I need to put weight on it, I can walk quite fast and even run a bit. Walking down stairs still presents minor difficulties as I need to keep my whole foot on the stair in order to navigate. We walked around York yesterday and as long as I avoided the cobblestones, I could walk easily on the pavement. York is a mass of uneven cobbled streets and sunken ancient flagstones and modern brick paving. Charming, though slightly hard to walk on with injured feet or high heels.

Partner printed off Chopin's Revolutionary Study for piano and I've been working on it. I have the first page down ok. I can play it sort of andante--never mind it should be allegro. I've discovered that my interpretation of allegro generally sits at around andante anyway. I need to practice more. I played for about an hour today and my hands actually began to hurt with all the stretching.

I have an injured foot and knee from falling down the stairs. The dog was involved. So I had a week off work but now I'm back. Not fully healed but able to limp adequately. When I first did it I was going nuts with the inactivity: all I could do was lay down. Going up stairs was tricky and seeing as our bathroom is upstairs I tried to hold it for as long as I could. Down was fine because I could scoot on my backside. Now I can maneuver the stairs fairly easily though it takes a bit of time coming down. I can still scoot. If I need to.

I'm working on storage solutions for our house. We don't have a lot of built-in storage so we have to make the best of movable storage, i.e. dressers, shelves, and boxes. Problem is, our house is full of junk. If it were just me I'd toss it all but Partner loves his junk. He needs his junk (allegedly). What's more, he loves to get new junk. I blame it all on him. After all, not one piece of the junk in all the house belongs to me. Everything that belongs to me is useful and necessary.

There has been a lot of bad flooding in our area this month and this week especially. My place of work was shut down for a day because the cellar was knee deep and part of the ceiling collapsed on the main floor. Kind of exciting but I'm just glad our house wasn't affected. Though Partner is worried the fish will escape out of the pond if it gets any higher.

The other night at about midnight the dog started yammering about intruders and so Partner went downstairs with his stick with a nail in it (only the nail seems to have fallen out) and when he opened the door he nearly stepped on a tiny hedgehog. In his bare feet. Apparently the hedgehog was attempting to break into the house, or so the dog thought. Partner called me down and we shut the dog in the next room and we watched it uncurl and snuffle off. It was literally right there in front of us and we could have reached out and picked it up, had our hands been adequately protected. The other hedgehog that lives in our garden is quite big--almost the size of a Yorkshire terrier. This one was about the size of a tennis ball.

Our wedding anniversary is coming up in about two weeks. Number three. Partner has hinted that he's going to get me a present that I will absolutely love. I wonder if that means he's giving me plenty of time to get him something equally appropriate. I kind of wanted to get a present for the both of us.

We got another orchid last month. Already we had five, so I wasn't too sure if I wanted another one; it was also on the blue light special shelf at the store because it had been damaged, most likely in a fall. But Partner insisted and I admit I was only a little reluctant. It's now performing spectacularly. I have to decide on a name. I was thinking of a famous name from fiction, such as Titania, but I already have a Shakespearian-named orchid: Ophelia. Maybe a biblical name, but I already have a Mary Magdalen. Maybe Hester Pryne...I always liked her.

Our hedgehog has put in several appearances so I'm beginning to think it's now a regular feature on an evening. Beauty really likes the hedgehog but I don't think the regard is mutual. We like it too: it scurries around munching sluggies and buggies. And it's adorable.

I think I made a reference to Partner's baseball team in the past, the Strikers. It was my opinion that they were named after their skill at batting. Well, after seeing them in action twice now, I have concluded they should be called the Suckers per their skill at baseball. I think in the whole time Partner played for them they didn't win a game. I can see why. He's still not playing because of his arm and is not allowed to ever again. But if he does, he should join a different team. I saw only one batter get on base with a hit, some very bad fielding errors, and the slowest fastball I have ever witnessed. I think I could throw a faster one. I did provide some heckling of the other team, though, mostly in the form of "Ooooo"ing at the pitcher after he struck two batters with a pitch. I would boo but I'm too polite.

Partner very helpfully reminded me yesterday that I hadn't updated my blog in more than a week. I think he wants to hear about something other than my wounded finger.

We bought a push mower this weekend and had a lot of fun mowing the lawn. It doesn't take a whole lot of strength, but since the last mower has been broken for a while, the lawn was very overgrown. So it took a lot of pushing to trim it all off. I was scared of the other mower so I wouldn't use it, but I don't mind this one.

At last I have enough flowers to pick and bring indoors. I made three very happy arrangements of roses, daisies, pinks, foxgloves, campanula, and irises. As I have I think twelve rosebushes of various colors suitable for arrangements, I have plenty of variety. I also have about twelve other rosebushes of various colors that have tiny sprays of blooms which can work for cut flowers but look better on the bush. I still don't have a red rose though. Partner says this is white rose country and those helicopters we see flying over every week are the rose police, making sure no one is trying to get away with a surreptitious red rose. Something to do with the Wars of the Roses (and those Lancastrian scum). I'm not quite sure if I believe him. He seems to think I'll get deported if I plant a red rosebush.

Poppies

I nearly sliced the end off my little finger at work the other day while cutting onions. It's a bit difficult to type and play piano, but the piano is easier than the keyboard. The keys are bigger. When it happened I had to sit down for a few minutes and try not to pass out. A coworker bandaged me up and gave me some sympathy. I keep showing it to Partner to get sympathy out of him too.

Earlier today the dog was rooting around the bushes while Partner and I were looking at our flowers and we suddenly heard some very frantic chirping and flapping and the dog appeared with her mouth full of blackbird. I think Partner was more upset than I was. To me, it was just a dog being a dog. But he got it away from her and she didn't actually kill it though it may have staggered off mortally injured for all we know. We know she likes to play with soft toys (she positively decimated a little furry shark the other day) and I think it's just her instinct as a terrier to catch and kill little fuzzy things.

We went on an hour and a half walk today and saw all kinds of flowers and butterflies and tadpoles and Beauty very politely met some other doggies. We saw a beautiful field of scarlet poppies. We have a print of Monet's poppy field hanging in our dining room. I wished I had brought my easel and paints. Maybe I'll go out tomorrow with them.

All done

I'm anxiously watching the sky as it gets blacker and blacker, fearful for my laundry out on the line. I think it might pass us by without raining. I hope. Otherwise I'll be making a mad dash outside to rescue my nearly-dry whites.

There are several things I want to get done today: cleaning and cooking for the most part, but I also want to go to town to the garden center and possibly the grocery store. I hate going to the grocery store and I haven't really been there in ages since Partner generally shops for us, but we do need some stuff. I also need to walk the dog but I'm loath to go out in this weather. Yesterday and the day before the three of us went out and I brought an umbrella but needed two hands to keep it over my head. And those hands got very cold.

Partner has been writing music and I'm so proud of him. I think he's really talented. I listened to some recordings of pieces he'd written in college and was really impressed. And I listened to what he wrote down last night on the computer and thought it was great. In my opinion, he should write all the time since I know he's got stuff in his head. He needs to write it down.

Cherry or apple

The dog has been sneaking through a gap in the fence next door to have her daily poo. At least the neighbor on that side has a dog so I'm really hoping he doesn't notice. I blockaded the gap yesterday in an attempt to keep her in. So far it seems to have deterred her. On a walk the other day she found a big pile that looked like it was made by a Great Dane and she peed on it so everyone would know it belonged to her.

I planted up my hanging baskets at last and they look good. I poached some plants from my mother-in-law when we visited the other weekend, plus had some of my own which had sprung up as volunteers from last year. Self-seeding can be great. She also gave me several other plants that she had extra such as a rhubarb, but I'm a little worried: it's really wilted and doesn't seem at all happy. I hope it perks up. Partner doesn't care much for rhubarb but I quite like it; it's so nice to have something edible and fresh from the garden after a long winter. I'm considering asparagus as well, though I think that takes a few years to establish. Still, it would be worth it. And Partner wants an apple tree though I'm leaning more towards a cherry. I know just where I'd put it. I wonder if he'd be upset if I went and bought one?

Have

Partner is in the next room snoring happily. He's sleeping a bit better now, and his arm is feeling a little less painful. He got up for an hour or two this morning but then came back to bed. I don't begrudge him that. He needs his sleep.

More than half of my seedlings have been planted now. We have two very long vegetable plots with onions, beets, beans, garlic, tomatoes, and fennel planted. Plus carrots and spinach in two small beds. My herb bed is looking lovely and perky. The roses and peonies that I moved earlier in the season are all looking wide awake and happy. Both roses were in quite shady spots before and didn't really perform well but now they have a lot more sun and room to stretch. And it's finally raining. I think it hasn't rained since February. The ground at the local park has been all cracked; there was a news story about many owners withdrawing their horses from an important jumping event because the ground was too hard and would damage the horses' feet. From an individual's point of view, I've loved the sunshine and warm weather. But as a gardener, I really hope it rains a lot.

Last year I had about 50 cosmo plants but this year I only have about a dozen. I've got tomato volunteers springing up everywhere in my beds. And my zinnias have been very robust this spring, outstripping the marigolds. My dahlia tubers have gone in the ground and I look forward to their return.

We're going to visit Partner's parents tomorrow for the day; we haven't seen them since January. His mother hasn't been well enough to drive up to see us and his father doesn't drive and this is the first time we've been able to actually get away. When we visited in January we took the train. Now we have a car.

Laugh

Under circumstances I am not at liberty to divulge, Partner has broken his arm. Again. He says he's too embarrassed to tell people the truth. But I can reveal that it did involve a fall. I was involved in a fall last week too, just not at the same time. I chased the dog around the back yard, playing rough and tumble, and had a rough tumble into one of the (as of now) empty flowerbeds. I landed on my face and scraped both knees. Luckily Partner wasn't watching but I suspect a neighbor might have been. The dirt was pretty soft, considering. If I'd landed on the grass I bet I would have bruised.

One time in Vermont, a friend and I were driving around Montpelier and we spotted a really big slide in a playground so I convinced her to stop and try it out. It was a bit wet from a recent shower, but I figured that'd be ok--a little water doesn't hurt. When we climbed to the top, we realized just how big it was. Probably three kids could have slid down side by side. And as for height, think fun-fair slides: the kind you ride down on a burlap sack. So my friend goes first. All is well. She shoots down it and jumps off at the bottom and waves back at me. I get on. I'm a little nervous but I can't back down now, so I push off. And go faster and faster...I'm wearing a wool skirt and connecting with the metal that my friend so conveniently dried off for me, I am soon out of control. I hit the bottom. Only I'm still on my bottom. My skirt flies up. I skid along the ground for a couple of feet before I grind to a halt. And I'm only wearing thong underwear, so it is my butt cheeks in direct contact with the dirt. The pain was awful but I simply couldn't stop laughing. I don't know if it was more funny for my friend who actually saw it, or me who sees it in my mind's eye as brilliant sort of cartoon comedy slapstick. My friend found some water in her truck and poured it onto my offending parts while I did my best to rub the mud off. I couldn't sit down for a week. It still makes me laugh to think about it.

I caught the dog sleeping on the couch the other night and when I told her to get off she just rolled her eyes at me. She didn't even lift her head to look at me. Naughty doggie. She knows it's where the boss likes to sit and since she wishes she were boss, she sits there. She also let herself into the bedroom the other morning when I was asleep and hopped up onto the bed with me and woke me up. I'm the boss so I get the best den. She's the subordinate so she doesn't get to sleep in the best den. When I let her know that, she gave me a very sad look. I almost gave in. But I am slightly allergic to her and if her hair gets on my bed I won't sleep for allergies. Plus, she's not the boss; I am.

Fields of gold

So while walking the dog today I remembered to bring the camera and took a few photos of the fields near us. But the dog was a bit camera shy: she wanted to have a good sniff at the camera before she'd give it her ok. Though it's a bit hard to take a steady picture when you have a dog on the end of a leash attempting to jiggle your arm and cause a comedy blurred photo. She chose that moment to let loose a string of about ten sneezes. I was not amused.

It has been a lovely spring day but I have to get ready to leave for work in about half an hour. Last night it was SO busy at work. The night before, too. We run out of clean dishes regularly and then have to put a delay on food. Though I don't mind if it's busy; the only thing is we sometimes finish late because of it. But the time passes really quickly. I'm still working evenings and that means I can get some stuff done in the morning before I have to work. If I work days, I don't feel much like cleaning or walking the dog afterwards. Too tired.

Beans

I will be glad when the weekend comes. Granted, I only have Saturday off, but at least it's a day off. We'll take the new dog to Sherwood Forest for a walk.

We have a new dog. Like Lucy, she's a rescue dog. Her name is Beauty, and she's a tiny who-knows-what-mutt, but she's very elegant and dainty. Partner thinks she looks like a miniature German shepherd: she certainly has the same brown/black coat markings. She's a bit shy and nervous but very sweet and quiet with good manners. We think she's about five or six years old. I also think she may have been neglected or even abused by past owners as she's slightly skittish and very very thin. But I love her already. Lucy could be a bit of a pest and was very headstrong and could be trying. I had to grow to love Lucy. Beauty is just naturally winsome. I am slightly scared though that she'll die suddenly like Lucy did. I know it's a bit irrational. There's no reason why she should. She's up here now with me while I'm at the computer; I put down an old hoodie of Partner's on the floor and she's happily curled up on it.

We walked to the local pond yesterday and saw Mother Duck and her dozen ducklings. They whiz around like they have little outboard motors. I guess they're a little early in the season but then, it is almost May. We also walked through a field of canola plants in rampant flower, like a bee's paradise. I think the smell is absolutely divine though it makes some people sneeze. The color too is enough to drive a nectar-eating insect into a frenzy: bright bright gold, so much that you can't see the foliage when the flowers are in full bloom.

Magazine

Partner and a neighbor cut down one of the trees in our yard today. It wasn't extremely tall, but it was quite ugly and extremely prolific and cast a lot of shade onto the garden. Known as an elder, it's basically a weed that was allowed to grow into a tree. Now it's scattered all over our back lawn. It seems a lot bigger on the ground than it was in the air.

I took photos of our garden today and uploaded them. They can be reached by clicking on the link on the top left of this page below my picture. The first twenty-five or so are new ones.

We've got frog eggs at last and today we heard a frog peeping in the pond. Some of them burp, but this one peeped. It's the first one verified this spring. Of course we've seen lots of them--as Partner says, they look like one trying to jump over another but got stuck halfway. Partner has very delicate sensibilities. When once at the zoo I saw a mandrill grab another and start bouncing back and forth; most of the people turned to the next exhibit quickly (I think my gramma covered my little cousin's eyes) but my mouth dropped open and I couldn't tear my eyes away. There was, however, something almost indecent about it: mandrills have little hands and little hips just like humans. I think my first memory of the zoo as a tiny child was seeing the big bull elephant peeing. Like someone had strapped a long grey hose to his underside, it just kept coming and coming. And he made a veritable pond at his feet. A person can learn a lot at the zoo.

Green

So we ought to get our new car in a few days. And Partner has been promised a promotion but we've heard that tune before, so I'll believe it when I see it. I cut the tip of my left index finger on some foil at work today. It's been bleeding a lot and I'm finding it difficult to type. Though I don't think there's blood on the keyboard.

We've had more good weather so I've been in the garden a lot. Partner cut down a small evergreen tree from our front yard and I think I want to move one of our hydrangeas there. We have two of them at the moment and one is very small and sickly. I think it needs moving to a more hospitable spot to grow a bit bigger. And the new ones I've been attempting to propagate from our big bush are not dead yet. I also want to propagate our clematises in the same way.

Easter has been ok for us. We haven't done anything huge and I did have to work, but I feel like I've had a good day. Partner cooked us a full Sunday roast dinner with meat, potatoes, and two veg and made some really tasty iced tea. We looked proudly at all our new flowers (tulips, forget-me-nots, and irises) and I had nice walks to and from bus stops in the sunshine.

The fuzz

I was thinking about the different plants we've got that self-seed. I've got poppies, foxgloves, feverfew, forget-me-nots, and nasturtiums. I generally find the foxgloves and feverfew all over the yard and either transplant them in groups or just pull them out altogether. The poppies I leave where they are and then pull out once the flowers are over. Nasturtiums seedlings get pulled out until about the middle of summer at which point I give up and let them run their course. I do like nasturtiums but they'll take over my beds and smother everything else if I don't keep on top of them. Around mid-July other the plants have had a chance to establish so they aren't bothered too much by a carpet of nasturtiums.

We've been pretty low on funds recently but hopefully that'll turn around soon. And we don't have a car nor have we had one since November, but Partner has been shopping around for a cheap old beater that'll last us a year. My new work schedule is such that I will be working moderately late nights and I'm not comfortable waiting for the bus home at 10.30pm. The bus only goes from work to our house once an hour, unless it doesn't come at all.

The weather was such today that I washed two whole loads of laundry and everything dried wonderfully outside. Washing machines in this country take more than an hour to go through a normal cycle so laundry can be an all-day affair. I much prefer to hang the laundry out to dry than put it in the dryer. They only things that go in the dryer are sheets and pillowcases. I'm trying to save the environment. And our electricity bill. Other things that I do to save e&e is unplug the entertainment center things (tv, dvd, etc) overnight and I try to turn off the computer at night too, though Partner likes to keep it running so he can download stuff. But I make him turn off the moniter at least.

I'm also trying to make sure all the dishes get done at night and the counters wiped down before we go to bed since we occasionally we see mice in the kitchen. If they find a free meal, they'll keep coming back. We have a few traps: one that kills and one that just catches. I don't like the kill one. I really don't like coming down in the morning and seeing a dead mouse on the floor. But then, coming down and seeing mouse poo on the counters doesn't exactly make my day either. When a mouse gets caught in the live trap, Partner will take it to work and set it free. I like mice. I like them in fields or forests or the pet shop. They're cute then. But house mice are not cute.

Ok they're cute; but I still don't like them.

Keep on burning

Yesterday was so warm that I actually wore a sleeveless top and became seriously concerned about sunburn. I transplanted lots of little feverfew seedlings to the front of a vegetable bed. Compact little plants, they have nice white daisy-like flowers to brighten up my veggies. I also ordered about seven or nine seed packets online last night and look forward to their delivery this week. Most of the seeds I ordered I've never grown before, like echinacea and amaranthus. Here's hoping they do well.

Today is also predicted to be a scorcher (as far as possible in March) but at the moment a thick stew of fog covers everything. So I don't think I'll make a start on gardening just yet. I had thought I might move all my crocuses to the front lawn: they look lovely when naturalized in grass. I think I must have about thirty or so bulbs--just about right for our tiny lawn. And over time they'll increase themselves so maybe one day in the future they'll carpet the whole lot. Crocuses remind me of little Easter eggs nesting in the ground.

Since it was hot yesterday I cooled off indoors with a bit of tidying. Slowly my disgraceful house transforms into a spotless haven. Slowly being the key word. Now that the days are longer than the nights I feel more energized to get some things done. Good for me.

Freezy

Yesterday and today we've had some snow flurries in between sunshine. I can't believe it's nearly equinox and we've got snow. It's not sticking, thanks to the sun, but it is COLD. I wanted to take a picture of it yesterday but I couldn't find the batteries for the camera. I think Partner hid them. It's also been extremely windy and my daffodils are being blown to pieces. Some that have fallen over I've brought inside and plunked in vases.

This weekend Partner and I put up some wallpaper in the bathroom. Two walls are done and it looks a lot brighter. We've also stripped off wallpaper in the kitchen which ended up a mighty task. It also is only half done. When Parter did the living room, the wallpaper pretty much fell off in his hands. It only took a quick tug and the whole section gave up the ghost. But in the kitchen it involves a lot of scraping with thin-edged instruments after misting the paper thoroughly. Partner claims he has shoulder pain, residue from last year's injury, and that he can't possibly do any sort of repetitive motion with it. So I've done most of the scrapeage.

When Partner walks in from work on a day like this his greeting kiss is always so cold I call him Freezy Man. But more often it's Freezy Me since I get colder easier than he does. I think body hair has something to do with it. He's got a natural fur coat and unless I grow my hair a lot longer I'll never catch up. I'm pretty darn hairless. And he thinks a beard makes him look manly, however I prefer a shaven face. A beard goes up my nose. But I draw the line at a moustache. I won't kiss him if he has just a moustache without the beard. If he ever kissed a moustache he would understand.

Amazing

I uploaded the link to my newest garden photos. It's posted on the left side of my blog there below my photo. I might take more pictures later when more things flower. I've got the beginnings of forget-me-nots and my tulips are forming buds. Last week I split up one of my older lupins into three pieces and spread them out. So far they are looking just fine. I also attempted to start my hydrangea propagating through layering: I cut a little notch in three different stems, pegged them down on the ground and tied them to a cane. Hopefully where they are notched they'll grow roots and I'll be able to dig them up and replant them elsewhere. I was thinking they'd be nice in the front--if they take, that is. It's supposed to take six months.

I was also thinking of moving some of my red peonies to the front. They are kind of overshadowed in the back and, since I have redefined a lot of the beds, are out of place. One of them is big enough to think about dividing it. We divided one I think two years ago and it didn't flower the first year but it did the next. I also think my yellow peony could be divided but I'm loath to disturb it. It flowers much earlier than the red ones and I always look forward to it. My gramma and her sister have so many different kinds in their yard that they have peonies all summer long. That would be wonderful.

Since about two weeks ago I have half-emptied my composter spreading it around my beds. I still haven't got a second one, but in a pinch I suppose I could just throw the stuff in a pile. We used to have a pile. It was huge. Unlike a pile, with a composter I don't have to dig to the bottom to get the yummy stuff. There's a little door at the bottom so I can just open it up and chip it out.

Some sunshine

Since I planted my seeds last week several marigolds and zinnias have popped up. It's very exciting. Marigolds especially are so bright and cheerful and so lovely and spicy. Not to eat of course. To smell. I also took some pictures of flowers in my garden today. I'll post a link to the side once I upload them.

Yesterday I made sushi for dinner. Talk about YUMMY. I think I could eat it every day. A lot of people think sushi is raw fish. Sashimi is raw fish. Sushi is technically vinegared rice usually served with vegetables and fish--raw or cooked. I made broiled salmon to go with ours. And freshly pickled ginger. You dip the fish/veg/rice in soy sauce and gobble it up. Then you eat a piece of ginger every several mouthfuls and it goes zing. I've had sushi rolls before but I've never eaten at a sushi bar or anything. I'd like to. I'm really interested in Japanese cuisine now. Since I saw Lost in Translation I've really wanted to go to Japan. Well, even before that. I fell in love with Japan once I saw Spirited Away. I saw another animated movie (Partner says it's by the same director as Spirited Away) called My Neighbor Totoro recently. It really bowled me over.

Partner's downstairs right now watching rugby. I don't quite understand it. It's kind of like American football only they don't wear any padding or helmets and they really don't stop gameplay at all. The ball is constantly moving. If they get tackled, somebody else picks up the ball and runs with it. Or kicks it. It's confusing. And they all look like they've been hit a few times too many. Actually Partner used to play rugby as a teenager and damaged his back playing it. He was confined to bed for two years and now endures chronic back problems. Luckily he didn't suffer any long-term brain damage. Getting hit in the head a lot will do that.

Clean

This weekend Partner and I stayed up till midnight to watch the full lunar eclipse. It stayed completely eclipsed for about an hour and glowed faintly red. The weatherman had forecast it to be a horrible grey day with no respite from the rain but it was sunny and warm as anything and very clear that night.

During the day I planted carrots, onions, lettuce, spinach, cosmos, marigolds, and delphiniums. Just seeds, of course. I have five little trays indoors and three outdoors under our cold frame. Partner cut back some of the rosebushes and did some digging. I thought I heard frogs burping in the pond but I may have imagined it.

We're both looking forward to my mother's visit in two months. We've got a few places in mind that we want to take her to such as Fountains Abbey and the city of York. I think the bluebells will be in flower when she comes. And we can go walking on the moors if the weather agrees. She's going to bring material to make curtains for my kitchen. I think Partner and I may try to redecorate the kitchen this week. He's got the week off and so do I. The wallpaper is falling off the walls but no matter what I'd still want it replaced: I don't like grasshopper green. I want the walls to be plain clean white and the cupboard doors repainted red. Right now they're kind of a medium blue. And I'm going to have red and white gingham curtains.