Eight-by-Six

I was talking to Ian in the kitchen this afternoon when we both saw a female black bird sitting on the fence. Nothing strange about that but she had some nesting material in her beak, we both looked at each other and smiled, waited for her to go then took a look into our small tree in the garden. She is building a nest! I'm so chuffed and its so near to the house. This afternoon whilst digging over the veg patch, lugging tons of compost around the male black bird came so close to me to pick up some worms. They have always visited our garden, eaten my strawberries and sat on the fence singing, so its probably no surprise they chose our garden to raise their family. Even so its the first bird family for us and in such a small garden. I finally got round to taking out the brocolli, the last meal we had with it was only a few days ago and I felt rotten digging it up! Oh well the compost bin has had the benefit. Talking of compost my compost bin must be super speedy. I don't do...

Ian went fishing yesterday in Sussex and came home with these two fine specimens! So tonight we will be eating baked trout stufed with shallots, lemon + a dash or two of white wine + herbs served with new potatoes and some fresh beans + brocolli from the veg patch. Enjoy your weekend. Amanda x

No pictures of me, couldn't find a good enough one to publish! I made lots of cup cakes last night to bring to the office, well big fairy cakes, yes I have to work on my birthday. Ian is taking me out for dinner on Thursday night so I can celebrate my birthday a bit longer. I did get a sloppy kiss from the dog this morning, no one else was around! Anyway here are some photos of my desk with my cards and presents. Amanda x

Happy 2nd Birthday to Moss When you rescue a dog you never know what you are going to get. At first it was difficult because he had to adjust to his new home. One year and a month on he is the best decision we ever made! His training is coming on and now he comes back when he's told to, well most of the time. He is a little character, very clever, very loving and very much ours and part of our family. So happy birthday Moss xxx

Are you new to crochet and want to make a present, this could be the answer. I found this searching for yarn today and had to share it with you, the colours are really lovely but sadly this shade is discontinued. You can find similar colours in the sale from one of my favourite yarn stockists  Cucumberpatch wool shop  I bought the 'Frosty' colour today for my scarf and you can find this free pattern here Eskimmi knits self designing scarf pattern . I made a similar one for a friend about a year or so ago and used a similar yarn but turned at the end of every row, this pattern suggests you break the yarn at the end of each row to obtain the stripes and the piece you. I'll let you know how I get on. I know it's summer but if you want to make them for presents it gives you time to get ahead :-)

 along the path I woke up far too early this morning, 5:30am! Unlike me but the sun was shining and I wanted to make the most of my weekend. Here are some pictures taken of a few of my hostas growing in my gravel garden, well my main garden. They grow really well here and I don't have a problem with slugs, I don't think I get any which is good. I have a small bed next to the pond which is shady and the other hostas love it there. Having a small garden means I have to cram everything in, veg patch, plants and washing line all in a small planned space. Seems to work really well and no grass to cut, which is a bonus. When we moved to this house almost eight years ago we had a nice garden but decided we wanted a pond so the garden was demolished literally and the pond planned around it. Last year a new fence was put in to keep the dog off the garden as he loves to eat everything! I have a couple of gaps and need to look at what else I can fit in, I recently planted two H...

I've been invited by the RHS to join the Great Garden Swap at Hyde Hall on Friday 3rd June, how wonderful. I'm taking my sister Danielle along as it can be a belated birthday treat, my birthday is next week. So if you are within driving distance (it's about an hour or so from Sittingbourne) maybe we will bump into each other. Ooh and they are providing a picnic lunch, it just gets better. Have a look at the link for further details Hyde-Hall The RHS Great Garden Swap