Not keen on new phone....

I decided my upgrade was NOT going to be another iphone. I set my heart on the new Samsung galaxy s3 that launched last week. It's my first foray into the android market, and, 3 days into it, I'm not impressed. Don't get me wrong, some of it is awesome. The big screen is beautiful. But everything was simpler on my iphone 4. And the games in the android store are bloody rubbish. I have already given my iphone 4 to my partner, who loves it. So I'm thinking about selling this s3 and buying the iphone 4s. I think I'll give it a few more days but I can't see me falling in love with my new phone :(

Snap - Happy

Got a bit snap-happy on the way back from the school run. We are lucky that we live less than 10 minutes walk from the school. And a sunny spring day like today means a detour through the park and some pics. They're taken with my iphone so they're not brilliant but I like them anyway.

So at the minute I'm chilling out with a bottle of water but then I MUST catch up with the housework. The place is a mess. Ye gods, I hate housework. I have a plaque on the wall in my kitchen which sums up my attitude -

Anyway, yesterday I was also snap-happy, taking pics in my garden. These are some of my aquilegia. They were already here in the garden when we moved in, they're spreading lots.

And these are the yellow-horned poppies in the front yard

This is the heartsease I found next to the wildlife pond

And if you look very closely you can see 2 of the pond snails floating about munching on some food.

I love my little garden :)

Gardening today :)

Hot hot hot in Durham today so I've been gardening. The weather here has been so weird, it has meant I am late planting stuff. Still, today I planted Lunaria, Vervain, Moonflower, Dirigible Plums ( that's Chinese Lantern Plants to non-Harry Potter fans lol. ) Also planted beetroot and runner beans, and also some jalapeno in the kitchen window. I moved the fern which couldn't take the sun next to the pond, planted the Hosta near the black Elder, moved one of the Lemon balm plants to the borders.

And then I found this, nestled by the pond.

It's Heartsease. It's a gorgeous little wildflower with many medicinal properties. I hope more of them grow.

The Buttercup corner is in full bloom.

And the Herb Robert has really made itself at home.

And after looking pretty dismal last year, the Thrift is flowering.

A couple of weeks ago I found some bluebells too but the men who came to replace next-door's fence squished them. :(

I also re-potted the sunflower and snapdragon seedlings.

Here is the corn I planted a few days ago, no idea if it will work out but at least I tried !

When we moved here, there was a clump of aquilegia which is now spreading beautifully, pale pinks and purples. Some clumps of montbretia, not quite time for their fiery-orange blooms yet, and snowdrops and daffodils in the springtime. And wild poppies, lots of them. At the minute, only the yellow ones in the little front yard have bloomed, but I'm sure the pink ones will appear sooner or later in the back garden. The little buddleia I got is now starting to grow and the lavender is looking very green, looking forward to that flowering.

I sat for a while next to the pond, just looking around the garden. It is almost 2 years since we moved here, and the reason we came was to have a garden. I'm just learning (hopefully) as I go, and enjoying it.


It's not the tidiest garden. Not one of these show-home types ! But I love it, it's coming together nicely.

Sunday morning

It's 7.27 am on a Sunday morning. The sky is blue but wow it is cold !

Pitch the cat has been meowing at the door to go into the garden for ages so I've suited and booted him up.

He wears a harness and is attached to a long lead so he can wander about in the garden but hopefully not escape. He will sit in a small clump of bushes and spy on the birds for ages. Occasionally he might chase a bug. He's easily pleased !

Or he might sit next to the pond. That's my little wildlife pond, I hope one day to have frogs in it. My friend gave me some frogspawn for it a while ago but I haven't had any tadpoles, I think the cold weather might have killed them off. :( Still, there are damselfly larvae, waterboatmen, bloodworms and some other unidentified bugs so at least there is some wildlife in there !

Yesterday I went to Bishop Auckland and bought a few bits n pieces for my tatting. Got some black satin ribbon ( for chokers ), some tools for turning it into jewellery, and some storage for findings.

It was a good day. I went with my little boy, who was bored looking round the craft fayre but brightened up considerably when he a) got a happy meal and b) got a game for the xbox!

Anyway, I think I will make the most of this quiet time by getting a bit of tatting done.

:(

Haven't done too much tatting the last few days. There's been a few deaths ( unrelated ) in the town where I live and everyone seems to be affected by it. There is a general feeling of gloom.

So I have tried a few times to get some tatting practice in but my mind hasn't been on it.

Reading has been a good way to get away from it all. I spent the last 3 days immersed in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I can slip completely into the HP books and forget about things that are on my mind.

Life is so precious. Appreciate it.

Some of my tatting

Thought I would post some pics of my tatting that I have been doing. I've only been tatting a couple of months so it's not perfect, but when I get better at it, I want to start selling tatted jewellery. This is my fave so far I think. Going to do it in different colours ( black should be nice ) and it will be a bracelet.

I really love tatting, it's the first crafty thing I've ever enjoyed and I think I'm doing ok, but my stuff needs to be a lot better before I can sell it. I just hope it DOES get better.

These are also bracelet ideas I had, just trying out different designs etc. 

 This is one I'm working on, it needs another row adding to it.


So, like I said, I hope I'm making good progress. Would be great to find a tatting group up here but I haven't found any yet. Moral support, you know ?

Nature Always Finds A Way

There's an old school (VERY old) in my town which is now used as a small office/ business centre. It has a low wall all around the grounds. And every year, in the little nooks and crannies, wildflowers appear. And I think it's lovely. Sometimes dandelions ( yes I know people consider them a weed, but look at them, they're glorious ) and lots of this.




As a species we are making a go of covering this wonderful planet in concrete. But always, nature finds a way.