Keep The Home Fires Burning

Is it really be almost July?  The past few days have been so cold that we have had the fire on and not just in the evenings.  There is that damp feeling in the air (hardly surprising as it has barely stopped raining during the past week) and a need to be snuggled up warm indoors.  I'm even wearing winter clothes - I don't know what happened to summer, but it seems to be passing us by this year.

Hanging Baskets

We have had a very late spring this year and even though it is now officially summer, the weather remains changeable.  We have had a lot of rain and that has had an impact on any garden plans.

We were into June before it even seemed worthwhile buying annual plants for my hanging baskets.  I like to do my own, rather than purchasing those which have already been planted.

It is so cold and damp that I haven't had to do much watering.  I had hoped to have baskets overflowing with flowers by now, but growth is slow.  At least they are still flowering.

Rest

I had surgery last Thursday, so I find myself in the unusual position of having to rest.  This is not something that comes easily, as I am naturally a busy person.  I have a full-time job and even if I wasn't working, I could easily fill my week with crafts and home-making activities.

It has been an opportunity to catch up on reading (I have enough books put aside to keep me reading for the next year or two) in addition to trying some new hobbies.

I bought this flower press over a year ago with the intention of creating handmade cards.  I never even got as far as taking it out of the packaging.  It remained in its box unused, but not forgotten.  

I had some pansies which I bought last month at Mayfest.  They were in pots indoors and I had them in the kitchen window.  They looked sunny and welcoming, but they dried out far too fast and I could not keep up with the watering due to my irregular working hours.  

I decided to plant them in the garden and in doing so, they were a bit floppy, so I rescued some of the flowers and finally put the flower press to use.    I would like to add to the collection of pressed flowers, so that I have enough to make some cards.  

Another thing that I've been working on is a plan for our new garden.  This requires little physical effort, as it is all on paper (and not to scale, as Mr Candytuft pointed out!)  It looks great on paper, but I think it may take a long time to come to fruition.  Anyway, I like the idea of a shed and potting shed like Le Jardin du Moulin, so that's on the list.

Home

The snow has finally gone and after weeks of cold and damp weather, the sun is shining and it is actually hot!  I'm not sure how long this weather is going to last, so we are making the most of it for now.

The trees are in bud and the maples in our new garden are just starting to go green.  Did I mention the garden?  Well, it needs a lot of work, so once we eventually finish unpacking boxes (a long job), we will have plenty to keep us occupied this summer.

We spent a busy weekend trying to make it look more like home and less like a warehouse!  We are making slow progress.

We're In

Our move did not go according to plan and it was delayed by two days, but we were finally in by Sunday 5th May.  As I went back to work on Monday, I had no time to unpack.  Spending the week walking around boxes and not being able to find anything was frustrating to say the least.

Things are slowly taking shape and the pile of boxes has now gone from the kitchen, although the pile in the dining area (above) remains, complete with treadmill, which proved too big to get down into the basement.  It looks like we may have to dismantle it first.

The kitchen will be nice once everything is in place.  The rest of the house is still in a state of upheaval, but at least we are in.  

We like the neighbourhood and hope to get outdoors and do something with the garden this coming weekend.

On The Move Again

Well, as some of you are aware, we have been looking for a new home for quite a while.  Our search is over and the packing has begun.  We are moving at the end of April, so hoping that the snow will be gone by then (the snow is still a third of the way up the back door!)  If we don't get a thaw soon, we may have to pay someone to dig us out.  

Longing For Fresh Air

It has been such cold, snowy weather since the end of January, that the opportunities to throw the windows open and fill the house with fresh air have been non-existent.  I'm not a fan of synthetic air fresheners, so I decided to search the internet for an alternative.

What I found was this great idea from Smashed Peas and Carrots.  Using mason jars with the metal lids replaced with decorative paper (I didn't have any to hand, so I recycled a recycled bag) and this is the result.

I used peppermint for the main living areas and then went girly for the master and ensuite with geranium.  Now my home is a haven of sorts, though not quite as you might expect for reasons which I will explain in my next post.