Getting there

The painting is finished.  Phew!  For a brief moment I thought it might all get too much but all of a sudden we can see the end in sight, and with that we seem to have relaxed.  Today I tackled the ceiling - never my favourite decorating job.  Having used a brush on the other new plaster ceilings here, and not being at all satisfied with the finish I got, I decided to use a roller this time.  And I have to say it was actually much easier (paint splatters aside) coverage-wise, although my shoulder and elbow were complaining by the end.  One coat, then I shut the door and left it.  Later, on inspection, I decided that it would do.  Is it perfect?  No, but it is perfectly good enough.  And that will do.  I have learned not to beat myself up because I can't achieve a flawless finish; what I have done is more than acceptable.  And the odd blemish can stay.  That's it, painting finished.  It's all very white.

As I type I can hear fireworks going off, again.  Firework season now seems to start before the end of October and carry on till the money runs out mid-November.  Last night N and I watched a lovely display, about a mile away, from the warmth and comfort of our bedroom - being at the top of the hill means we have a good view over the surrounding area.  In my childhood (that's getting to be a long, long time ago), it was a packet of sparklers on Bonfire Night and sometimes a party at a friend's house - a few rockets, catherine-wheels nailed to a tree, and potatoes wrapped in foil and baked in the bonfire embers.  

I'm a bit worried about the apple seedling - it's not looking very happy at the moment :-(

With the painting completed, and a few hours of dry weather, I took the opportunity to walk into town.  I passed some trees in lovely autumn colours, but many of the leaves have now fallen, and are a soggy mass on the ground (or clogging up the drains).  I managed to get some embroidery threads for the wedding cushion, and then I had a quick browse around a couple of charity shops.  My lucky day - the Cancer Research shop was having another sale - all donated items £1 each.  The shop was packed and doing a roaring trade.  I picked up three men's shirts and a long Laura Ashley dress, all 100% cotton and ideal for patchwork.  (NB  When I got home and showed my haul to N, he took a fancy to one of the shirts and we now have a stand-off as to who wants/needs it most!)  I've also seen a pair of lined curtains which I think will do quite nicely for the new guest room so I'll pop back in on Monday to pick those up.  

The past week has found me avoiding the mirror too much - my grey hair had got too long and was making me look way too old for my liking.  There is a point at which even I can't ignore it any longer so I took the mirror outside and gave myself a much-needed haircut.  Short is so much better and I felt I was trimming a few years off my age, too ;-))  I must make the effort to keep it trimmed and not let it get out of hand again; it really doesn't take that long to do.

There's not much happening in the garden at the moment but in the greenhouse we have a few cuttings we're trying to nurture along.  We also have this plant:

Nicandra physalodes (shoo-fly plant).  A few years ago a colleague at work gave us a handful of seeds from a plant he had in his garden.  We duly planted them, and had a lovely show of these big, blousy annuals with blue flowers and interesting green papery pods.  It obligingly self-seeded, and we had another display the following year, then not much after.  Never mind, they were free.  So imagine our surprise when we were tidying up the garden at the flat, prior to our move here, to find a Nicandra seedling merrily growing away among the geraniums.  We re-potted it and brought it to the new garden, where it was abandoned outside to fend for itself.  It's now flowering it's little heart out, warm and cosy in the greenhouse.  A bit straggly, but clearly a survivor.  It has reminded me that all it takes is one little seed and the right conditions.  I am so looking forward to doing some planting next year.

And a brief mention that the blog has passed 10,000 page views, which seems quite a significant number.  Admittedly most of those are probably spam links to dubious sites but I know a few other bloggers do drop by from time to time, which is always appreciated.  If you are one of those welcome visitors, 'hello' and thanks for popping by.