Me On A Monday - May 15th

 An amazing weather weekend this side of the pond - a perfect Sunday to celebrate Mother's Day.

Currently In The Garden: this past week it was all about my garden & getting some professional help with the out of control, beyond my doing, goutweed removal!  A team of three very strong energetic young lads, dug out 97% of the goutweed & other invading plants. They put down some heavy duty landscape fabric as a barrier & then put lots of mulch on top.  Some of my plants had to be dug out, so I could sift through the root base to pull out the goutweed & replant.  Right now it does look a little stark, but many of the plants will fill in the space.   Any of the goutweed sprouting up now in between the leaves of my "wanted" plants, can be easily plucked out. 

Looking West

Looking East

I also had them remove a Forsythia shrub that was taking up way too much real estate in the garden for so little return of either beauty or value.  They also cut down a one sided stunted evergreen, which was occupying a lot of space & interfering with a peony bush.  

We have made up a natural weed spray; 1 gallon of cleaning vinegar  (I did not know there are different types/strengths of vinegar), 1 cup of Epsom salts & 1/2 cup Dawn dish liquid soap.  Mix all together & spray on the offending plants.  This is safe to use around animals & people.

My vision for this year is to not fill in spaces, but to live with some emptiness & see what fills in with existing plants. I would like to have more visual calm in my garden.  I have lived with so many "gifts" from friends & family, that this year I de-cluttered my garden space with a rather firmer hand than in previous years; gone are those ornamental things like plaques "bloom where you are planted" or "gardeners know the best dirt", even the little fairy girls are gone.  What is left is Meredith my angel that I made in ceramics class several years ago & my swinging monk, who makes me laugh every time I give him a push to swing.  

Currently Watching: caught up on the very brief season 3 of Grace.  We finished all 5 seasons of Blue Murder & we are just starting White Chapel.

Currently Reading: well nothing at the moment, as I need to get to the library to pick up my latest request; Smitten Kitchen Keepers.

Currently Healing: Mr Man's eye(s) continue to heal, slowly. At last week's follow up appointment, the tests show the bubbles in the right eye (most surgery) are diminishing & the inflammation is reduced.  Yeah! 

I hope everyone has the opportunity to get outside & enjoy Spring.

Wisdom

 

If you don't separate yourself from your distractions, your distractions will separate you from your goals & the life you want.

                            ... Source: unknown

Me On A Monday - May 8th

 Good Morning!  

What a fabulous coronation, I enjoyed every moment of it. I was up at 4:30am to make scones & a large pot of tea & settle in for 4 hours of viewing.  I ate far too many scones; all with clotted cream & jam! I taped the whole event & have already re-watched several highlight moments.  

I thought The Princess of Wales made an excellent head piece substitute for the tiara, with Princess Charlotte having a similar head piece as did Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh.   I missed all the bling of tiaras.  

Source: Internet

But for me the star of the coronation service, was Princess Anne, The Princess Royal's hat & feather. The feather now rivals the candle placement from the late Queen's funeral.  Oh the memes for the feather have been fast & funny.

Source: Internet

My second most favourite moment was Penny Mordaunt, Lord President of the Council & Portsmouth North MP, holding & carrying the sword for the full length of time of the coronation service - well done, kudos to her training! Her outfit was also a stand out, excellent choice in styling & colour.  

 

Source: Internet

It was a glorious & happy moment in history.

Currently Fox Watch: has ended, the family have moved on, as it should be, but I'm still sadden by this.

Currently Reading: The Woman With The Cure (thanks Deb for this recommendation).  I am liking the flow of the story & it has me pausing to check online some facts about the polio pandemic.  Also reading, A Town Like Alice (thanks Ruth for this recommendation). I could have sworn I had read this book, but turns out I have not, so what other Alice book am I confusing this with.  Again another story that has me checking on facts.  I really enjoy books that not only captivate me, but teach me & have me interested enough to read further on the subject(s). 

Currently Pleased: that in my stash of scrap book paper, I have found two sheets that will work for my pages for the coronation layout. One sheet is crowns in rows & one sheet has big crowns within some words, that I'll be able to fussy cut out.  Having the stash certainly has paid for itself with these two finds (lol). 

And now I'm off to put away my tiara & deal with my glorious & happy downstairs life - happy week to everyone.

Wisdom

 

Blessed are those that learn to admire but not envy, to follow but not imitate, to praise but not flatter, and to lead but not manipulate.

                ... William Arthur Ward

Me On A Monday - May 1st

Welcome to the new month of May.  We certainly were living the old rhyme about April showers bringing forth May flowers.  The last 3 days were rain & mist, current forecast is for rain on/off for the first 3 days of May.  No matter it makes everything so green with promise.

Last week, for me, was all about having the opportunity to observe the five Fox babies up close, but still not interacting with them.  They are growing so quickly.  I've learnt a lot about Foxes over the last week. Foxes mate for life & often if a spouse is killed, they never re-mate. The average litter of kits is 4-5 & they will nurse for only about 4-5 weeks.  They will stay with their family unit until the Autumn.  During the spring season of babies, Mother Foxes will often make use of Aunties in the pack. A non breeding female Fox will often help out with the babies.  While Foxes typically hunt alone, it is in the next few weeks that Mother & Father Fox will take the babies out hunting.  This is the most dangerous time for the young Fox kits, as there are the larger predator of coyotes also raising a hungry family of pups. 

Mom Fox Returning From The Woods

It was difficult to capture with a photo all 5 playing, I got a few photos of two or three playing, but they are SO quick.

I am quite smitten with Foxes.

Wisdom

 

I am not a professional designer, but I just figured out that you can make a room look 40% bigger if you put away 8 loads of laundry.

                    ... unknown 

                    (posted in Tidy Life, Happy Wife)

Me On A Monday - April 24th

Good Morning. What a lovely start to the day. We've had a few days of much needed rain. The garden has had a lovely wake up drink to begin the setting of blooms for the summer.                     

Currently Crafting: after a fairly long break from my crafting table, I was able to get some card making in between loads of laundry; wash, dry, fold, repeat ... I'll say no more.  I made a variety of card themes & I made one card that I am particularly proud of - no photo just yet as I'm sending off to a friend that reads my blog.  I find that when I craft a card that I like, I tend to have more success in the whole process.  Although I do note, that my cards are made with love, not perfection.  These are four of the cards I made - salutations labels have been left off for now as I'm not sure if birthday greetings or just a note greeting. 

Cups of Cheer

pots of cheer

I haven't done much if any scrap booking in several weeks - I'm just not taking as many photos.  I must do something to remedy this.  

We are just over half way through the 100 Day Project - I need to get a push on.

Currently Reading:  Babel; Or The Necessity of Violence. An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution, a novel by R.F. Kuang. I'm not entirely sure what I think of this book - I'm about 1/4 of the way through & I find that I am liking some of the pages, enjoying the story, but then there's about 2-3 pages that I just don't like & find rather difficult to plod through. Some I've had to re-read, just to keep the flow going.  So far I am committed to keep reading, for now.

Currently Watching: The start of series 3 of Grace on Brit Box. Spoiler Alert:   knew that Sandy was alive right from the beginning ...

Currently In Awe: of five Fox kits.  The house where I cat sit, house sit, pool enjoy, has a family of Mom, Dad & 5 baby Foxes.  I don't think I have ever been this close to Foxes, let alone the babies. I am in absolute love.  Foxes are native to our region, & most have been extremely wary of humans (a good thing). The only draw back, is that they have a den under the pool edging, which could weaken the pool ... hopefully Mom & Dad Fox will move the family out into the woods, just behind the pool fence.  My friend, the home owner, is checking with the vet as how to provide a mange mites vaccine to prevent future problems for this family.  

Currently In The Garden: I haven't had any new clumps of that nasty invasive garlic mustard sprout, so maybe in the garden, I've at least won this battle, although the war with it, does rage on.  I've got several clumps of Daffodils blooming; such a sunshine yellow of happiness.  There are signs of tulips with flower buds - not all lost to the roaming bunnies. We set up the patio furniture on Friday, before the rains started, that makes it feel like the season of spring/summer has truly begun. I put the bird bath up & filled. I don't keep upright during the winter, because the water freezing cracks it.  I've been monitoring the F/B page that tracks the Hummingbirds' return to our region - they are expected to arrive later this week. I will get my Hummingbird feeder out & filled & ready for these hungry little charmers.  Normally I would put out some orange slices for the Orioles return, which happens about the same time, but at the price of oranges, I'm afraid they will have to share in the Hummingbird nectar of sugar water.                   

 Now I go to put together a grocery shopping list, which I have to do so that it is healthy me doing the shopping, not chubby me trying to remember what's on the list & that cookies, biscuits, crisps are not healthy snacks!  I hope every one has a delightful week.