tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55751852594677387812025-10-25T08:20:08.758+01:00Thorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15765308896852026630noreply@blogger.comBlogger191125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5575185259467738781.post-91481235688959285622013-05-12T19:27:00.000+01:002013-05-12T19:27:20.263+01:00

It was not from lack of trying, or any kind of laziness - as my faithful readers know (and thank you for being faithful) I had a bad year, last year.  I kind of let the garden go.  I had some tomatoes in bags to harvest in September, and they were nice, but after July, I lost heart.  I had a hole in my heart so big, it took me a while to get back to normal. Normal.  Normal

Thorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15765308896852026630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5575185259467738781.post-86436616824672442532013-05-09T22:39:00.001+01:002013-05-09T22:39:54.696+01:00

Buy it now.  I have just finished - it's an easy read, but it is very eye-opening, and very enjoyable, and really, it's a must read.  I love this man, James Bowen.  I love this cat, Bob.  It is one of the best books I've read in a long time.  A Street Cat Named Bob As my ginger cat goes a little bit nuts on the windowsill.  Why?  Because they are cats.&nbsp

Thorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15765308896852026630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5575185259467738781.post-32691036390496774152013-04-22T23:28:00.004+01:002013-04-22T23:28:56.155+01:00

Says "hi" Meeeooowwww.

Thorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15765308896852026630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5575185259467738781.post-82705124390793725752013-03-02T21:20:00.000+00:002013-03-02T21:20:36.603+00:00

As you know, our Ginger is gone. Our beautiful, special, white-whiskered boy who loved us so much. You may remember the neighbours who moved in with their Mitzi.  They've just moved to the West Indies!  Nice for some, bit of a change of weather, hey? Mitzi is happily ensconced, I believe, with her "grandmother" who always looked after her when they were away.  And is queen

Thorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15765308896852026630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5575185259467738781.post-24359965456763153142013-02-18T23:20:00.001+00:002013-02-18T23:39:03.981+00:00

It is with a heavy heart that I have to report, that our beautiful boy, Ginger, Mr. Wiskers, little scoodgums, is no more.  It turns out he was much older than we thought.  Given the fact that he adopted us, we didn't know. Double the years, actually.  Wow, looking at him, who would know he was already 12 years old.  And he had a kidney problem, that would kill him in a

Thorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15765308896852026630noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5575185259467738781.post-2792935688749708552013-01-06T17:43:00.000+00:002013-01-06T17:43:13.849+00:00

I wish you all a Happy New Year. Unfortunately, I have lost one of my most faithful readers.  A keen gardener, and a highly talented artist.  Tim, you will be missed. Here's to some good gardening in 2013.  And the music will resume soon, when I can find another user-friendly playlist.

Thorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15765308896852026630noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5575185259467738781.post-12745516595294027142012-12-06T22:07:00.001+00:002012-12-06T22:07:46.461+00:00

Apparently, there was snow somewhere in London yesterday.  North of town, and those airports up there (Stanstead and Luton) had some problems.  As I heard on the news in the morning, getting ready for work.  I saw it was cold out there - and I'm not one to say "cold" easily, coming from Chicago, as I do. But 20 degrees F is pretty darned cold to me, and that's what my thermometer

Thorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15765308896852026630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5575185259467738781.post-20913414365837690542012-11-26T00:14:00.001+00:002012-12-09T14:04:02.951+00:00

It looks awful, doesn't it. So is my life. A dear friend won't answer my calls. Makes me very sad. My husband, bless him, is working all hours and is away every night - has been for the last three weeks, and will be for the next to come. Oh, and my mother died on the 2nd of July 2012. Life is just a bit difficult at the moment. And the garden looks like ... Shit.

Thorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15765308896852026630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5575185259467738781.post-32534786709075283442012-11-21T23:44:00.000+00:002012-11-21T23:44:13.190+00:00

There is a certain smell, this time of year, that I rather love, even if I don't like winter.  Or coldness. Or snow.  Or all that is associated with a winter. It smells like snow.  When I say that to my English husband, he laughs.  "How can you smell snow?"  he says.  You can. It's not that it's going to snow here.  Anytime soon, anyway.  Or even where I

Thorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15765308896852026630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5575185259467738781.post-69367049461933990212012-11-19T00:21:00.000+00:002012-11-19T00:21:16.338+00:00

Thorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15765308896852026630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5575185259467738781.post-23718712341818476132012-11-18T23:50:00.001+00:002012-11-18T23:50:26.024+00:00

Here's some more art.  But I promise, after this, it's back to the horror of the garden.

Thorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15765308896852026630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5575185259467738781.post-34043606581503862232012-11-13T22:54:00.001+00:002012-11-19T00:19:46.470+00:00

I should share with you what I've been up to over the last couple of weeks - back to back, Affordable Art Fair Battersea and Hampstead once again. For the last time.  But it's all so beautiful!  However, if you want to keep the dates in your diary, Battersea is early March next year,  Hampstead is June, and Battersea again in October. For the time being, I can only share with you

Thorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15765308896852026630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5575185259467738781.post-79443880698389637732012-11-04T16:20:00.001+00:002012-11-04T16:20:31.401+00:00

Yes, I'm talking about the superstorm, and my love and positive thoughts go out to everyone who was affected by it. I've been thinking, for the last few weeks, of making a suggestion, and in the aftermath of Sandy it just seems all the more relevant.  It started when I watched this video. TED talk: David Roberts on Climate Change Science, climate change in particular, made understandable

Thorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15765308896852026630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5575185259467738781.post-41016740116906795092012-10-21T17:56:00.002+01:002012-10-21T17:56:43.110+01:00

Or perhaps, buzz buzz. I had an assignment a few weekends ago - to deal with front, as we were going to get a gate and some trellising installed.  Given that my husband was working on Saturday, and I was working on Sunday, the best day (in bright sunshine, mind) to do the necessary was the Saturday. As I left the flat at the same time as my neighbour, he commented "Wow, chainsaw and

Thorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15765308896852026630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5575185259467738781.post-4697788540923483412012-10-14T21:22:00.003+01:002012-10-14T21:22:41.954+01:00

And then there were four ...

Thorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15765308896852026630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5575185259467738781.post-84481453721007732192012-10-09T23:18:00.000+01:002012-10-09T23:18:26.625+01:00

Well, perhaps more spiky than furry. The hedgehogs are back!  That's right, plural. You see, whilst I was away, well, my husband has something of a love-hate relationship with the cat.  Ginger's meow does certainly pack a punch. So, he would fill up the cat's bowl (two sided - one for moist food, one for dry) and then put it (and the cat) outside.  On a daily basis.  So

Thorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15765308896852026630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5575185259467738781.post-15250273782325974612012-10-07T14:38:00.000+01:002012-10-07T14:38:08.247+01:00

I had a chance to visit my family, and check the progress of the little garden I planted in April over there, if you remember. Everything did well except the plant in the upper corner, closest to the house.  I can't remember what it was now.  I've replaced it with a red Verbena which I hope takes.  But I am pleased with the progress overall. I especially love this,

Thorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15765308896852026630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5575185259467738781.post-31145098033687206622012-08-17T15:33:00.001+01:002012-08-17T15:33:43.517+01:00

Thorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15765308896852026630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5575185259467738781.post-40786369396092069722012-08-10T15:48:00.001+01:002012-08-10T17:07:10.094+01:00

My poor abused lawn mower made it through once again.  This was almost two weeks ago, and guess what - I'll need to cut it again this weekend.  At least it's not going to be a complete nightmare. You may have noticed at the back that there is a bag of compost with three tomato plants in it which I managed to salvage from the overgrown weedfest that is the right, formerly

Thorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15765308896852026630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5575185259467738781.post-55765220737434798882012-07-21T18:35:00.001+01:002012-07-21T18:35:45.967+01:00

It's very, very bad out there.  Prepare yourself. Never say never, huh?  Didn't I say I wouldn't let the grass get this bad again?  Huh.  A combination of weather and a horrible event in my life has left me with this to repair. Let's get a closer look. Not pretty. Wish me luck.

Thorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15765308896852026630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5575185259467738781.post-50088936555388789312012-06-27T15:26:00.000+01:002012-06-27T15:26:24.363+01:00

We lost, by the way. On penalties. Yet again. Not that the uninspiring and pedestrian England team really deserved to make the semi-finals after that performance. Two years until World Cup 2014 ... In the meantime, since we need a laugh, and further to my obsession with foxes, I am sharing this gem with you.

Thorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15765308896852026630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5575185259467738781.post-4231933028004218322012-06-24T13:02:00.002+01:002012-06-24T13:02:41.776+01:00

I am what you might call more than a football fan, more of a football fanatic when it comes to England. So, as we have a Quarter Final against Italy tonight, I'd just like to say (and please, say it with me): COME ON ENGLAND. Let's go, boys.  Get us into the semi-finals.

Thorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15765308896852026630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5575185259467738781.post-62157693159896946372012-06-19T08:00:00.000+01:002012-06-19T08:00:07.034+01:00

I don't know why I'm so obsessed with foxes, or why I love it so much when they come in my garden. There he was, one recent morning, which had me running for the camera and snapping away as he examined the lawn. He seemed to be finding something to eat. What that might be, I do not know. Isn't he just gorgeous? At this point Ginger must have been wondering what I was clicking away at,

Thorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15765308896852026630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5575185259467738781.post-35726559860457482172012-06-17T16:06:00.000+01:002012-06-17T16:06:56.328+01:00

One bright spot of good news, the hosepipe ban has been lifted.  It only took them two and a half months to do so, after "the wettest April in over 100 years", and forecasters predicting "the wettest June on record."  "Monsoon June", the papers are calling it (don't you love the British press), which is about right when you factor in the very high winds, and flooding. So whilst it is

Thorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15765308896852026630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5575185259467738781.post-36067562547415202922012-06-05T19:58:00.000+01:002012-06-05T19:58:36.302+01:00

One day's work. That's right, out of a potential four days of gardening, I managed to dodge the raindrops to get in a day's work.  That includes a visit to the garden centre to pick out some plants on Sunday (generally an awful day) and the luxury of little rain in the afternoon on Monday.  Even a tiny bit of sun peeked out. Sigh. So, off to Phoebe's Garden Centre on Sunday to

Thorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15765308896852026630noreply@blogger.com2