a roadside find.

a while ago, i picked up this little gem on the side of the road. it was destined for the rubbish tip but i just couldn't go past it...



it took me a little while to get myself together but once i got it cleaned up, sanded back and started on the painting, it came together really quickly!
it might have been helped along by that fact my mum popped a few coats on while we were holidaying in new zealand...



it was super well received by our nephew!
once he realised what it was, and that it was his to play with, it was hard to get him away from it!

hopefully he keeps loving it for many years to come!

monday morning catch-ups.

in the past month, there has been quite a few beach walks...



there's nothing like a walk on the beach to 'blow the cowbwebs away' as my mother in law likes to say. i always leave feeling so invigorated, and i loved when we came across these little rock stacks.
such patience and beauty.

the main reason for the multitude of beach walking, was a housesitting gig that bb took on.
in the seaside town of inverloch and looking after a pair of pooches too!



rex the elderly greyhound and gretel the enthusiastic jack russell.
such little characters that brought such joy to our days. it was a pleasure to be there so that they could be at home in their own space!

i've been wanting to cook popcorn on the stovetop for ages, and the easter long weekend brought the perfect opportunity!



with a good sprinkling of salt, it was SO moreish and delish, i can't wait to make it again!

on the knitting front, i've been working on some long-term projects (one of which is done, and i'm hoping to share in the next week or so) but there's also been a couple of quick knits along the way...



when your bestie has a little bouncing baby boy, who is a little early, and a little small for his knits, there's not much else to do but cast on some new ones!
i'd say a couple of these are probably too small already for the wee poppet, but they kept his head warm while everything else was still a bit big!

and finally, the bits and pieces that make a house a home... plants and mirrors, artwork and soft furnishings. all packed up in the back of the car to be moved.



we're all moved in to our new place now.
i visited our little blackburn house on saturday on my way home from work, and it was so strange to see it without all of our things, especially after we've been there for almost seven years!

it's been a big few months!

a bump in the road.

ok so it's been a while...
well and truly fell off the blogging every day bandwagon i started up back in february... and then kind of never got back on the blogging horse at all!

it's been a busy six months or so in these parts. a wedding, honeymoon, a couple of weeks of full time work, an overseas trip, a house move aaaaaaaand...



a wee announcement.

the extreme fatigue of the first trimester really got the better of me in january and february! but now i'm on the other side with a little more energy, and with hopefully a little more downtime thanks to our recent move (hoping to share some more about that later!)

truly hoping i can get some of the posts that have been going around and around in my poor addled brain onto the screen as i have absolutely missed putting together and sharing!
see you soon!

day thirteen - more green love.

and now, for the back yard.

i showed a wee bit of this little corn patch the other day, but here's a bit clearer look...



i made up this bed pre-wedding, with the hope that the corn would look a little like this on the big day... it obviously didn't, but that didn't matter much ha ha!
hopefully, if i keep the love up to it, we'll get some corn sometime soon!

this zucchini plant is proving it's quite happy in this spot.



it's taken over the chilli plant next door, and is sporting a couple of wee babies too!

and it looks like we're not far off getting another wave of raspberries! i think this will be about the third or fourth of the season.



how spoilt we are!
there's never quite enough to do anything with, other than snack on while i'm watering, but i'm quite grateful all the same. store bought ones just don't quite taste as sweet...

day twelve - patience.

today, all of my knitting time has been spent being patient...

when i cast on my current knitting project, i read up on the process of a provisional cast on, as the pattern suggested. i read from a few different sources, that it was a good idea to use a needle a few sizes bigger than recommended, or double up your needles to make sure the stitches were big enough to pick up again to continue knitting with.
being that it was the first time i was using a provisional cast on, i wholeheartedly trusted that advice, which resulted in this...



now this is no-ones fault, bar my own. not understanding quite how the cast on worked, or that the instructions would be most likely recommended for woolly yarns... something with a little spring, and a bit more forgiving than the cotton/linen blend i was working with...

anywho, i powered through my knitting, knowing full well that once the neckline was picked up and knit on, i'd have this tedious little task to work through.



several hours of work, painstakingly pulling up the loose tension between the stitches to firm them and make them look right!

as tedious as it seemed, it was really nothing compared to the hours of knitting i'd put into the garment to get the body done... definitely a worthwhile few hours when it will go towards a garment i'll wear and cherish for many summers to come!

finishing garments is always something i've rushed in the past, but it's something i have a huge amount of patience for in recent times. why go to all the effort of the knitting, only to make it look thrown together with haphazard finishing?
always worth a little extra time for sure.

how are you at finishing projects?

day eleven - green love.

according to my blog archives, it's been a long long time since my last green love post... since may it would seem.
a ridiculously long time!

needless to say, quite a lot has changed! this might be another photo heavy post...
first up, le rose!



it's a pretty happy chappy at the moment.
not that it's ever particularly unhappy to be honest, but this summer, i've been giving it a little attention... plenty of water, and dead-heading the spent blooms where i can (not that you'd know looking at the above photos ha ha)

this wee tomato isn't looking so happy...



i always find this happens with tomatoes i grow here, they get super leafy, put on fruit, and then the leaves curl up and die. i guess i shouldn't be too upset, because as you can see above, the fruit still ripens up beautifully!

the space below could be called 'potted colour bonanza'



a little bed i planted out pre-wedding as it's never really been used for anything... i did grow some onions out there one year i think, but that's about it.
now it's a beautiful bee haven and incredibly nice to look at to boot!

and a little to the right...



a whole load of pots and container gardens...
the tomato in the back there is looking the same as the one above, who knows!
the petunias in the tub with the rose have gone so crazy, i love how lush they look!
and also, pineapple! just pineapple-ing along slowly. bb bought a pineapple when shopping the other day, so i've got the stalk prepped and in the kitchen on the windowsill. hopefully it will sprout some little roots and i'll have a pair of pineapple plants!

phew! so many garden stories, and we're only in the front yard still... the back yard might need to wait until tomorrow!

what's growing in your patch at the moment?

day ten - today.

being back home, the realities of keeping up with all of the housework are flooding back...
this is a little what today will look like around here...



mt. washmore will be conquered. having done four loads of washing on our arrival home on monday has led to this. phew!
it definitely needs to move though as this couch converts to a bed, and that bed has a guest tonight.
fold, fold, fold!

i did a dumb thing and failed to give the bathroom a good clean before we left. heck, i didn't even give it a light clean!



the enjo is coming out to play and the bathroom will be getting a super deep clean!

and this last one, well compared to the other two, it will be an absolute cinch.



this layer of dust has been taunting me for ages. so simple and easy to get rid of it, but do i do it?
nope.
today it's happening. i'm heading off to visit my folks and i do NOT want to be looking at a layer of dust for the 90 minute journey there, and the same when i return on the weekend. NOT HAPPENING!

in fact, when i went out to the car to take the above snap, i took my dust glove too.
it's done! tick it off!

scintillating stuff over here today eh?
i felt if i wrote it down, maybe i'd be a bit more accountable and get it done!
oh and anyone who is wondering why i'm doing all this myself? what bb is doing? he's on the lawn mowing, vacuuming and the dishes today!
clean house here we come!

do you ever need to make yourself accountable with your chores? are you an enjo fan?