We had a
blast from the past when we were sent a picture of Mike with his apprentice
friends at BEA in 1973….we were thrown into a week of reminiscence and review.
It is really good to talk over the past and this has sparked off some really
funny and long forgotten stories. Mike and I were an item when this picture was
taken and I don’t think Mike has changed a bit …..we have promised to get back
to the UK and meet up with these people, but there is so much to do and achieve,
but we will put them on the long list of celebrations and occasions coming up
in 2016 including our 40th wedding anniversary
We had a major
setback in the pumpkin race as our prize, pride and joy caught a cold and
disintegrated into a pile of mush before our very eyes. We Don’t know why this has happened but we are
now about to lift the other two as the competition day is looming and we need
to prepare our entry and make sure we do not lose another one before the judging on Halloween day…..eeeek
We saw a
couple of good weather days on the horizon and decided it was time to put the
pool away. It is always a melancholy time as it rings in the changes and puts
us well and truly into autumn mode. The pool is stored away and all the
equipment stowed in boxes to protect them from our winter mice looking for a
home. Then once that is done the garden
furniture finds its way into the barn and before we know it the patios are
clear and there is nowhere to sit even if the weather stays fine. We are
hosting the pumkinalia this year so I have insisted that we keep some stuff out
just in case the weather stays fine as it did last year. We have taken photos
of where the pool sits in this area so we don’t get in the situation we were in
this spring where we could not remember where it sat the year before and how it
all fitted together….we are taking no
chances for next spring.
The Pool
area has now become a nursery and all the plants that I have in pots waiting
for a place in the garden are lined up for easy care through winter and also a
chance to see what we have and where to put them. Always a proud moment for me
as I have some good plants to consider for next year’s planting and this gives
us a chance to take stock.
For a
couple of weeks I have been considering the state of the cart on the front
drive and mentioned to Mike that I might like to move it onto the garden
somewhere, and to my surprise he agreed that it was time for a change. I asked Mike for a plan one morning and he
said we needed to see if it would move first then we could make a plan.. So
here is Mike playing rickshaw boy walking the cart into the garden so I knew we
were on a job done situation. Needless to say I knew exactly where it was going
and I quickly made space so we could both discuss and ponder as this would be
the last time this old cart will move and we were most surprised it made it
this far.
So there
it is, in my Italian garden where the water bowser used to be. I needed
to have the water mobile again so if we get dry spells we can take well water
to any corner of the garden. The cart
has given a more authentic feel to this area and I am delighted. Mike is amazed
at the space left on the drive so this really was a good morning’s work giving
us a mobile water source again, an authentic cart in the garden and acres of
space on the drive….. che ching.
Every week
we watch gardener’s world and every week I say I am going to grow more flowers
and every year I never do but an item this week got us interested and this year
we have prepared our own tomato seeds for next year. We followed the instructions and were pretty
pleased with ourselves until it seems that the instructions were a bit suspect
and we should have used coffee filters instead of kitchen roll but hey ho Mike
put his Mr clever hat on and managed to get these stuck fast seeds off the
paper. We were pleased with the outcome
and have our seeds for next year….role on spring time.
We have had
some great weather and the trolley bay covered patio is now taking shape. Mike
has very successfully put all the bits together and we have nothing too many,
or too few, but today was the real appliance of science. The Millau bridge
construction team has nothing on us as we jacked the four corners and tweaked
the adjusted until the spirit level was to an acceptable accuracy and then Mike
went around and bolted it all together. We now need to rub it down, put a coat
of paint on and put the roof on which I can see sliding into the spring. I am very pleased we now have a water proof
area at the back of the garden, good for the holiday makers in the mobile homes
and great for us when the customers have gone home……..
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