I like purple frogs

Hello. There is the most stunning sunset tonight, but it will be gone in a few minutes. Strings of orange slowly sinking, with parts of the blue sky visible behind it, and dark clouds hovering yet hardly moving at all. Now the orange is turning to red as it drops below the roofs across the road. . 

So, what have I done today. It was time for Mr frogs makeover. I put a very pale green undercoat on him first. I thought I might leave it that colour but it looked a bit boring, so I thought why not jazz him up a bit. This colour is called Positively Purple, it's a Dulux tester pot, it looks blue on the photo, but it is purple. I found the easiest way to paint it was to put the wheelie bin in the middle of the lawn with an upturned pot underneath him. He is at the right height, no bending, and I could walk all the way around him, reaching all parts, with very little effort. 

The mat he is sitting on is a bit broken round the edge, but it doesn't matter, can't complain, it was free. I painted his eyes, yellow. .

While I had it on the brush, I painted Mrs Tiggy's eyes as well.

Who says you can't have a purple frog and a green hedgehog, ha ha.

Snacking today was two kiwi fruits, a nectarine, with a splodge of  plain yogurt. 

Look, I've got runner beans, yippeee. A kindly reader put some dried beans in a goody bag parcel she sent me. Thank you, and now I have beans to eat.

These are doing really well, £2 from Aldi.

And I have a few of these pretty flowers in the beds. The bulbs were from Poundland.

How are you all doing with the walking? Only five more days to the end of the month. The target for the eighth month is 666 miles, and I am on 650. I doubled up today and walked six miles. Might have to do that again.

I'm struggling to keep my eyes open here, so I'd better sign off. Thanks for popping in, we'll catch up soon.
Toodle pip.

Open Gardens, more pics.

Hello. And now for the rest of the photo's from yesterday. Every garden had a veg patch, from a few raised beds at a pensioners bungalow, to a large allotment size plot in a one acre garden. Every one of them were full of healthy plants yielding an abundance of  vegetables and fruit. Not one slug nibbled leaf in sight. 

There were little nooks and crannies to explore, beautiful cottage gardens, with secret half hidden sheds.

I did say to the man that he could enter this in Shed of the Year, but he said no.

Another hidden shed in the same garden.

We saw some quirky garden sculptures and ornaments.

Bee hives at the bottom of this garden, the bees seemed very busy coming and going.

Some of the houses were very large.

I like this sign, seen inside a shed.

This was stunning, a huge pot of equally huge flowers. Don't they look fabulous.

This was the last garden, and I'm sure they saved the best for last. Mind you the waterfalls and ponds were also fantastic, oh it's virtually impossible to say which one was best.

Thank you very much to the people of Winteringham for opening their gardens. We really enjoyed it. Great value, only £4 for an afternoon out. It's the first time I have done this, I shall be looking for some more Open Gardens now.

Thanks for popping in, we'll catch up soon.
Toodle pip

Winteringham Open gardens

Hello. I've had a fantabulous and brilliant afternoon out, looking around gardens. It was Winteringham Open Gardens today, this is the village where I help to deliver the Parish newsletters, so I've seen all the front doors, but never looked round the back. Janet came with me and we really enjoyed it. 

I have lots of pics, too many to put into one post so I will split them in half and you'll get some more tomorrow. 

The gardens were really stunning, every time we went round the back of the house our first reaction was, 'oh wow, look at this'. The owners were all very friendly answering any questions we had. The event was very well supported so there were lots of people traipsing around the village with their maps in their hand. 

First off we went to the Village Hall where we handed over £4 each for the map. The money made from the event is to be shared between the Village Hall and the Hospice. There was also an art exhibition, with stalls inside and out selling plants, wooden garden sculptures, and outdoor ironwork and stone carvings.  Refreshments were available but we didn't have time to sit down, there was a such a lot to see in 14 gardens. 

The first wow factor had a big pond with massive fish in it. A waterfall and rockery with mature shrubs. 

There were pots of flowers everywhere.

This garden was overflowing with plants and shrubs. Walk through the pergola to the pond and water gardens. Ornamental herbs and vegetable/fruit gardens. Lots of little meandering paths through the greenery. It was fabulous. 

Not much garden here. No, not yet, but it has the potential to be great. Hope they open it next year. This site has been under construction for a long time, the building is renovated barns. The owners had the house next door while the major building work was being done, now they have moved into here and work will start on the garden soon.

Lovely paved patio to sit under cover. 

We even found pigs at the bottom of a huge garden. There were ten altogether, five sleeping and five foraging.

Just leaving this one, on to the next one.

Now this was a little stunner. The house from the front looks nothing special, it's straight onto the pavement, no front garden. But go round the back and you find a water feature made from two genuine old lock gates, A veranda dining area, and a secret hideaway, a small Swedish guest house in an old barn attached to the house. Janet is just emerging onto the patio.

The inside is just fabulous. Wooden stained paneling with two sets of stairs up to the sleeping balconies. 

There is a wood burning stove with comfortable arm chairs, and it also has a shower room, sauna room, and a toilet with hand wash basin. This is used as guest accommodation when family come to visit.

Al fresco dining area.

Poor old wheelbarrow is broken so they have transformed it into a planter.

If you click on a pic they will become bigger. That's all for now, I'll post some more tomorrow.

Thanks for popping in, see you soon.
Toodle pip

Monday's musings from Tightwad Towers

Hello. I'm waiting for it to cool down a bit before I go and do my walk. It's been so chuffin hot here, I've been indoors for most of the day. This morning at the Village Hall for the Crafty Club, we are three years old today, and Heather very kindly baked a cake with a raspberry and cream filling. We are planning ahead and thinking about what decorations we are going to make for our Christmas tree, and we have chosen a date for next years Art Exhibition. When I came home I carried on with sewing, because it was too hot to go outside. 

I have some flowers, some of them are a bit floppy but it all looks nice. Pictures taken from inside the summer house, looking out. The grass is growing nicely up to the bricks now, good to see all the bare earth finally covered in green. 

Some of the yellow sticker veg has been turned into stew, portioned up, and in the freezer. It's butternut squash, sweet potato, courgettes, and spinach. Six meals, plus three smaller pots, all for a cost of £2. A slice of bread to mop up the gravy. That will save a bit of cooking when I can't be bothered.

A few more snapshots of the felt exhibition at the Arts Centre. These are amazingly complex pieces of art. They look almost like porcelain.

Nearly 8pm, I think it might be safe to go out now. Thanks for popping in, and thank you for your comments. We'll catch up soon.
Toodle pip.

Spot the wild flowers, ha ha

Hello. Here is an update on my flower beds. As you can see this one is full and lush with shades of greenery flopping over the sides. This is where I chucked lots of seeds, it's the nearest one to the summer house so I was hoping for a good display. Well it's full alright but where are the flowers? The £1 packet of wild flower seeds have turned into wild flower weeds, ha ha. 

I think there may be a flower or two opening eventually here.

Possibly a poppy.

Ooooh look, a thistle.

Gawd know what this is, the biggest weed, usually seen along the edge of a field in the hedge bottom. Charming I think not. With some thinning out, the most obvious weeds ruthlessly dragged from their neighbours so the rest of them might have a better chance of producing flowers.

In other beds the £2 fuchsias from Aldi are doing well, the slugs are leaving them alone. 

The five plastic storage boxes have again sprouted the greenery from the £1 packet I bought last year. Little pink flowers will be showing soon, whooopeeee.

On the subject of gardening I have a confession to make. Thinking about the hours I have to spend in the garden during the summer to keep things tidy, I have spent £20 on an electric hedge trimmer. As you know I do like being outside in the garden, pottering is my hobby, but the laborious task of keeping the hedges looking respectable can be a bit draining. So I have succumbed and bought a gadget to make the job quicker and easier. It's a cheapo Aldi trimmer, so let's see how long it lasts. I had a practice with it yesterday and whizzed through the bum fluff sprouting from the Leylandi hedge in no time at all. Yes it might cost a bit in electricity, and it's blooming noisy, but I can see it's going to be a great workout for the shoulder and upper arm muscles. I haven't bothered to pick up the trimmings, the lawn mower will do that next time I mow the grass.

A mixed bag today. I've got three arty crafty projects on the go so I keep dipping into them, bit by bit they will get finished. I've another one in my head, been sorting out some fabric for that. Library van day so I'll go and say hello to Stan and get some books changed. 3 miles to do. Kids to feed, poo picking, plants to water if it doesn't rain, might trim up another hedge if I have five minutes to spare.

Thanks for popping in, we'll catch up soon.
Toodle pip