Happy Fathers Day

Just to say a Happy Fathers Day to all the Dad's out there; still with us or gone but never forgotten.

Here's a few photos of my Dad out in France. He's been very busy replacing the typically French almost-vertical stairs in the house! Now there's a much safer angle on the new ones so you don't quite feel like you're rock climbing!

New stairs going in

Dad's also been building a garage in the garden. There was an old tin shed that he's taken down and he's built a nice roomy garage/workshop with the help of his builder friend out there, Steve. The tiling is almost finished and then it just needs doors and to be rendered so it matches the house. I bet Dad can't wait to potter in there building things and I think he'll be taking his Lotus Elan out there to give her a home in the garage when it's not being driven.

So Happy Fathers Day for tomorrow to my DIY Dad!

Em x

Blackbird's Nest Update 18/06/2016

I hope everyone is having a lovely weekend and I hope none of you have been too affected my the torrential downpours last week. Lucky for us there wasn't too much and to be honest I really love thunderstorms anyway and they helped freshen the air for Hay Fever.

I posted a few photos last week about Mrs Blackbird who was busy building a nest in the Clematis in our garden. She finished her beautiful nest and I didn't think to look again until one day in the week when I was putting the tortoises into their outdoor run which is right nearby. As I stood back up I came eye to eye with Mrs Blackbird sat on her nest! She stayed totally still and I carefully moved away so as not to disturb her. She doesn't seem to mind too much anyway as I've come quite close to the nest a few times as I put the torts out and bring them in again.

The other morning when I went out I noticed she wasn't on the nest and when I peered a little closer I saw that there are four vivid blue Blackbird eggs sitting in the nest! I was worried that she'd left them but within about half hour she was back on the nest and I've noticed she's off the nest each morning for a little while. I assume it's to stretch her wings and find some food for herself.

I estimate that the eggs were laid about five days ago and I've researched that the incubation period is 13-14 days according to the RSPB website so they should hatch around next weekend some time. Fingers crossed they hatch and survive. Thankfully I've done everything in my power to deter cats from our back garden and it's very rare we get a cat in there as they're one of the biggest risks to vulnerable chicks, so hopefully the chicks will have a good chance at fledging successfully. There's plenty of worms and insects in our garden for Mrs Blackbird to feed them anyway, so here's hoping they all hatch successfully.

I managed to carefully get a photo of the eggs in the nest the other day and wanted to share it with you. More updates to come soon; as you can probably tell I'm quite excited about having wildlife in our garden, that was my main aim :-)

Em x

Front Garden Transformation

We've been living in our house for almost 18 months now and I can't believe how quickly that time has flown. I feel like we've achieved quite a lot in terms of decorating and putting our own stamp on the place but one job we've been meaning to do for a while is neaten the front garden area. It only consists of a small garden sat next to the driveway but it was very overgrown and mostly full of weeds (which the tortoises really enjoyed!).

So I just thought I'd share a few photos to show the transformation; we weeded the bed, some of the wildflowers I've dug up and re-planted in my wildflower bed in our back garden. Once the bed was weeded I created a flower bed under the Buddelia and we levelled out the remainder of the ground and prepped it for turf.


After a trip to the garden centre to purchase turf and some plants for the newly created flower bed we went home, laid the turf, planted the new flower bed up and laid slabs for the wheelie bins to sit on. Ugly though they are we don't have anywhere to hide them away, but at least they're now sat on slabs so they're easy to move. There was a flower bed in front of the kitchen window too. It was full of a type of Valerian (I think that's what it is...?) and although it is pretty it was very invasive and growing through the gravel, not to mention soaking us each morning when we had to brush past it to get to the car. Therefore I pulled it all up and again have replanted a smaller amount in the back garden where I can better manage it. This newly emptied bed under the kitchen window was then planted with Osteospermum I bought from the garden centre and with Gaillardia that I have grown from seed. I love Gaillardia and they're great for spreading across a bed and are covered in bright orange and yellow flowers each year.


We both worked very hard anyway and we're really pleased with the finished look; a pretty front garden that's nice and easy to maintain (because all the hard work is in the back garden!). Just a small lawn to mow, Privet to trim and a few flower beds to keep happy. The only jobs we have left out the front to do is pull the remainder of the dead ivy off of the house and re-paint the brickwork. We also desperately need a new front door before the next winter approaches (this one sticks terribly in the cold weather). We'll get there eventually :-)


Before...

After...

And because of the pesky cats I've had to protect my new flower beds

The downside of all this gardening? My hay fever is extremely bad at the moment, but I'm determined not to let it get the better of me!


Em x

Football Mad Household - I'd Better Get Used To It!

It's football mad here in our household now that the Euros have started. I'm not a huge football fan to be honest, I much prefer rugby (a sport where real men don't dive on the floor with invisible injuries, not to mention the fact that rugby players have much better manners and respect the referee), however I do like watching international competitions and cheer England on (even if at times we can't bear to watch! - 1-0 up on Saturday and then we let Russia get an equaliser, oh England you were playing so well!).

I bought Barry a little limited edition Euros football on Friday. He is obsessed with any ball, tennis balls are his favourite, but this football was extremely exciting. It took all of 2-3 hours for him to puncture the ball but he's still happily playing with it (thankfully he hasn't tried to shred it apart).

Jack is off to France at the weekend with his best friend to go and watch England play Slovakia next week in the Euros. They're both really looking forward to visiting my parents for a couple of days and they're excited for the football, though the issue of fan violence has overshadowed it somewhat. It's hard to know what to believe with what you hear through the news but I think it's a mixture of various parties causing problems, rather than any country's fans or French police in particular. That's not me trying to say England fans are angels; lots go out there with the sole intent of drinking too much, causing trouble and that ends in violence, which makes me very angry for people like Jack and his friend who are driving out to watch a sport they enjoy and cheer on their country. Anyway, I won't get started on a rant, promise! I'm a bit worried about them going out there but hopefully they'll be safe. 

While Jack is out in France I've got a quiet weekend of crafting, crocheting and house decorating planned. I'm looking forward to a weekend on my own - I can leave yarn all over the sofa and craft supplies all over the dining table, he he! Plus I have Barry to keep me company and I'm hoping the weather will be kind for us to go for some nice long walks locally.

We had a very busy weekend in the front garden, transforming it from an overgrown untidy garden to a presentable, easy to maintain garden. Another blog post on that to follow shortly.

Have a good week all!

Em x

A Walk Around Our Garden

The Alliums are out; this is the first time I've grown these and I love them! It's great to see the bees appreciating them too

 

I love my little bug house that Jack's parents bought me. Some insects have already made it their home and it's well hidden amongst the blackcurrant bush - there's going to be lots of blackcurrants this summer!

 

 

 

I love the flowers on Chives :-)

 

Mrs Blackbird has been busy flying in and out of our Clematis; she's making a fantastic nest...

 

...While Mr Blackbird/potential suitor has been keeping a close watch from the top of our conservatory.

 

Em x

Wildflower Walkies

Before being struck down with the nasty tonsillitis I enjoyed some lovely walks out with Barry. We've explored a few new circular routes local to us; Barry and I like finding new footpaths etc. to explore and we came across lots of beautiful wildflowers on some of these. I have however got a big bed full of wildflowers in my front garden and I've been picking them occasionally and displaying them in the house, they look so pretty!

 

 

 

Cheeky Barry made himself at home in my crochet blanket!

 

Em x

 

The Coles Wedding; My Best Friend Gets Married!

This is a long overdue post but I've spent the past week hardly moving from bed due to a severe case of tonsillitis. It's the most painful I've ever had it and it's completely knocked me for six. I've got no energy, but I've been on antibiotics for a few days now and they're beginning to do their job. My throat isn't so painful, just sore and easily aggravated by eating so I'm resting up as much as I can as I want to get back to work.

Firstly I'll go back to just before the bank holiday weekend when I headed to Suffolk where my best friend Jess lives, to help her set up for her and Robert's wedding. It was great fun, though extremely tiring for all involved but we had lots of giggles and I loved spending a good few days with my Bestie. Robert's a farmer and therefore the wedding theme was rustic/countryside. We did all the flower arranging too which was good fun, but not so much with hay fever which meant I spent more time helping to set things up in the marquee for the reception.

 

The Wedding Day

Jess, myself and one of the other bridesmaids went to a hotel in nearby Newmarket the night before the wedding. We all had manicures & pedicures before having dinner out and collapsing into our beds exhausted. Saturday morning dawned with not a cloud in the sky and the weather was beyond perfect for the wedding day, I like to think Jess' Mum Jan had something to do with that, to make the day extra special for her daughter. There had been a few tears the night before and the morning of, I wish so much that Jan was still with us and could be there to see her beautiful daughter get married, but I told Jess and completely believe that our loved ones are with us the whole time, so she'd have been there beside Jess giggling as we got our hair and make up done, as I helped Jess into her dress and as her Dad walked into the room to see Jess for the first time in her dress. I feel so honoured to have been a big part of the day and to see Jess so happy too. Jess bought each of the bridesmaids beautiful pearl bracelets which looked lovely beside our dainty bouquets of flowers. Jess's bouquet was extra special, with a photo of her mum attached so Jan would be walking down the aisle with Jess.

 

 

The bride, father of the bride, bridesmaids and flower girl travelled in style to the Church just along the road from where Jess and Robert live, in the form of a cute VW Campervan, meanwhile Robert went by Tractor!

 

 

The service in the church was lovely, it's a tiny little Church in Little Saxham, but it made the ceremony feel all the more special and intimate for Jess and Rob with their families. I was Maid of Honour and witness for Jess (I was so touched when she asked me about both roles) and I also looked after her little eight year old sister Millie (flower girl) who was extremely nervous about walking down the aisle, though Millie's Mum (Jess' stepmother) Trish was close by. Millie's so lovely and she held my hand tight which I think I appreciated just as much as she did! After the service it was great to see Jack who had been sat a few pews back from me, he looked super smart in his suit. We headed back to the reception venue where a vintage ice cream van served tasty ice creams and these were followed by Pimms and canapés. It was lovely to be able to sit outside the marquee for a while to enjoy the Pimms in the sunshine and see old friends from where Jess and I grew up. We were then seated in the marquee for a tasty main course of steak pie and mash, followed by a dessert of wedding cake - they had 3; a beautiful rustic sponge tower wedding cake, a tasty fruit cake made by Jess' mother in law and an Italian wedding cake too as Rene, Jess' mother in law is half Italian. The food was all delicious.

 

My place at the table with the handmade favours Jess had done which included a mini jar of homemade strawberry jam, a tea bag and a scone recipe card, cute!

 

Beautiful wedding cakes

 

The speeches were incredibly touching, especially Robert's who made special mention to Jan and the fact she wasn't with us. He had everyone in tears at this stage and it was special to raise a toast to Jan.

 

 

And then the reception began, with lots of music, dancing, evening sunshine outside and artisan wood fired pizzas for supper. Jess and I love a dance and were up on the dance floor a lot! It was an absolutely amazing day and I was so glad to be a part of it. Jess and Rob are now on their honeymoon in the Maldives and probably having a lovely time!

 

 

 

 

Jack and I

 

 

 

 

Back to my bed I go to continue to rest, hopefully I can shake the last of this tonsillitis away soon and feel better. I hate being poorly, I feel so low and sorry for myself. Not to mention to guilt of not being at work eating me up. Being happy and positive when you feel ill is hard!

 

Em x