Monday Morning Again

Boy, did that weekend fly past! Saturday we were supposed to be going on the Motorhome hunt but it didn't happen. DS had asked last weekend if DH could bring The Tank and help him and some of the Guild members to take more stuff to the amenities site - he couldn't last weekend but he could this. I thought it would only take an hour....... it didn't. There was an awful lot of stuff and it took two trips to clear it all. Several hours and a "Where the heck are you? " text later DH arrived home. One quick wash and change and we drove to Brigg Garden Centre for dinner with the intention of going on to Kirmington afterwards. Nope, by the time we'd been served (it was rush hour) and eaten the bulk of the day had gone. A quick phone call to the place confirmed what I thought: they closed at 4pm, plus they weren't open Sunday and anyway, there was a Leisure and RV Show on down South and half their stock was down there. Scrap that idea then and back into the garden centre to continue the great Weeping Willow Tree hunt instead....... and no luck there either, so we consoled ourselves with a coffee and a scone. :0)

Sunday was jobs day and what a scorcher of a day it was. I mowed the lawn while DH popped to Morrisons for some shopping - I decided I'd much rather be trudging around in my garden getting hot and bothered than around a supermarket. By the time I'd done I was cream crackered and feeling iffy with all that sun, so had a cool drink and helped DH put the shopping away but when that was done I went to bed for a snooze. I reckon the Spanish have got the right idea with Siesta time - I felt waaay better after that. LOL By late afternoon/early evening there was a light breeze which made sitting out a real pleasure.

Stitching wise I managed to complete the front of the Monthly Challenge piece and completed the border on the back...... just got to decide what's going in the middle section now, then get on with that and the finishing. As I can't yet show pics of that here's a pic of some lovely stash I bought from Claire last month:

She very kindly added the Rainbow thread and charms for my charity stitching. I've always fancied having a go at Spirelli cards, where you wrap thread around a serrated edged piece of card to make a pattern (a bit like Spirograph), so these will be really useful for that. Once again a very big thank you for your generosity Claire. :0)

On the charity stitching front: while I was looking through my stash for something on Friday I found a little Egyptian ankh piece I stitched some time last year but hadn't done anything with. Claire had sent me some blank keyrings some time ago, so I finally finished it off:

As the cost of posting items to Western Park Cancer Hospital's fundraising shop is now prohibitive I plan on giving the next batch of stitched pieces to my MIL: every so often her and FIL run a fundraising stall in the foyer of Derby Royal to raise funds for Treetops Hospice, as a thank you for all the help they gave Helen.

As I did more gardening than stitching over the weekend I thought I'd post a couple more pics taken in my garden. Here's the ivy growing over the old air raid shelter door:

If we don't cut it back soon it will look even more like the door into the Secret Garden! LOL

I think these are peonies (don't quote me!):

That bush was in the garden when we moved in here, over 20 odd years ago, and flowers like crazy around this time every year. The central one was the first one to flower this year.

Here's a pic of the triffids at the bottom of the garden, also now in flower:

My Green Man has all but disappeared now. The whitish flowers you can see among the red are from something the lady in the garden over the back has trailing along her side of the fence - again I have no idea what it is but the bees and hornets like it a lot. The fluted column you can see to the right was also in the garden when we moved in - it's just propped there temporarily while we decide where to put it. The lavender will be flowering very soon too. :0)

Today is another hot one, so I got up early to get a good start on my jobs while it was still quite cool. Good idea, as they're all done plus there's two lots of washing out on the rotary drier as well...... am now taking it easy until Alex arrives as my ankles and feet are threatening to balloon up due to the heat. Glad to say that there's been neither sight nor sound of the builders today, so it's been lovely being able to listen to the birdsong again.
Helen: my sympathies to your Mum - a weeks worth was enough for me, so I don't know how she's coped with the noise for that length of time. :0(

Lynn: having problems visiting your blog again and can only read it via Bloglines, so can't leave comments for you. Wish I could figure out what the flippin' problem is, as I'm sure it's my end. Been thinking about you - lots of (((((((((hugs))))))))).

Nicola: Many thanks. I'll be across to your blog to catch up and email you in the next day or two.

Well it's time I was off, as I'd like to get a little stitching done before Alex turns up for her visit.

Hope you've all had a great weekend and that you're all enjoying the same lovely weather that we've got in this neck of the woods. Thanks for visiting. :0)