On the way to Summer

Part of the 'Making Mischief' folk costume exhibition

We have just returned from our first real expedition of the year. An attempt at a weekend away in April was marred as we arrived by Mr Bufo having as spectacular a fall as I had suffered in February, including an evening in A&E - this time in Taunton! 

So it was several weeks before we felt confident enough to attempt another foray. But the Folk costume exhibition we had wanted to see since it opened in February would be finishing on 11 June, so we had to do something about it. We had been to Compton Verney before, nearly 10 years ago, so knew it was worth a visit for its own sake, and found a nearby Mercure Hotel, Walton Hall, so that we could take a fairly gentle drive up on Wednesday afternoon, see the exhibition on Thursday morning, and come home that afternoon. All of which worked as planned, we also managed to see a friend who lives nearby for dinner at the hotel on the Wednesday evening, and although tired afterwards, we felt we'd had a good time. The exhibition was well worth the trip, but the restoration of the Georgian chapel, and the rehang of the permanent folk collections were also good to see.

Motif 3 (of 6 designs)

More crochet has been accomplished on the Heirloom blanket, but plenty more to do. I'm currently nearly finished all 8 of Motif 4, have done 8 Motif 1; 9 Motif 2; & 8 Motif 3 (shown here)

The latest flower delivery was peonies, which don't last long, but are lovely while they do.

And once again we have a good crop of strawberries; this was the first picking - about a week later than last year's.

We'll soon be off Somerset again for the last ever Cleeve weekend.

Spring in a Time of War

 

The garden is showing signs of Spring, and the days are lengthening. But there is news of war to counteract the spring feelings.

Pulmonaria and daffodils seemed to be the most appropriate flowers for the heading, but the hellebores are doing well, both the white...

...and the red, 

while the violets are putting on a brave show 

- and the tulips are all that are left of the last delivery from Bloom & Wild. 

Let us hope that the world situation doesn't get worse as the weather gets better.

And Suddenly it's Summer!

 ...and once again we are waiting to hear whether restrictions are to be lifted further next week or not. In the meantime the French Open is nearly over - which means Wimbledon cannot be far behind, and the garden is rather untidily full of flowers. 

The peony in the picture above has been annoying me for some years, as it would bud, and then drop, so I said it could go. It must have heard, in the way these things do, because this year it had four big buds, once of which was in full flower when the scaffolding from our roof replacement came down...and knocked the stem a bit. It might have recovered, but I decided to cut the stem and add it to one of the vases of the latest delivery from Bloom and Wild. 

We are both fully vaccinated now, and have had a wonderful night away at the Castleman Hotel in Chettle, Dorset. This had changed hands since we were last able to get there - 2 years ago! - but the ambience and the food were still of exceptionally high standard, and it was such a treat for us not to have to think about preparing or clearing up a meal. The room we were given had a four-poster bed, which was a bit high. In fact anyone shorter than me would have needed a step to get in, and getting out (inevitably) in the middle of the night, was a bit haphazard, so next time we go, I think we'll ask for a different room.

 

I am still knitting - a top-down rust-red cardigan at the moment, though also trying to finish a conventionally  structured black one while the days are bright, as it is impossible to see the stitches properly in winter or artificial light. A few days ago I had to drop down about 25 rows to correct (with a crochet hook) the two purls that should have been knits on the body of the garment! 

We also have a new dishwasher! Many years ago on here I recorded that I was unhappy with the first dishwasher we had, and thought the problem was the detergent. 10 years on, we have replaced it as it was just pumping and not draining properly, and find that the new one (which has the added benefit of popping open when it has finished) doesn't smell of detergent when it has completed the cycle. This makes us think that the old one had never drained/rinsed properly, and that we've been exposed to dishwasher detergent in our diet for all that time. It was the first one we had, how were we to know that it wasn't normal to get the detergent smell?

The garden is looking good, if a bit wild. The strawberries are ripening, the blackcurrants are setting...and the forecasters tell us that summer is here!

Signs of Spring

Waiting for news of 'the way out of Lockdown' - much of which seems to have already been briefed so as always will be an anticlimax.

In the meantime the blanket is finished, and the snowdrops are out.

February's delivery of flowers from Bloom & Wild was particularly good, and also included 3 tulips (not pictured) still attached to their bulbs, so lasting beautifully and will go into the garden when they have died back. 

The apple and pear trees (only one of each) need pruning, so I must garner the energy to do that soon, before the sap really starts rising. 

...oh, and we've both had the first dose of Pfizer now, and the dates for our 2nd appointments