At last, after a month of rain, we might have some dry days.
We cleared all the roses from the middle bed in the front garden.
They were never really happy there, so we are replacing them with a mixture of perennials.
Freshly dug soil, with some addition of new compost - and now all the cats around think this is their new public convenience! A sprinkling of bin powder on the soil usually helps, but this has been washed away by the rain every night since I planted it out........😠
Hopefully, now the dry weather has been promised, we will be able to start tidying the back garden next week.
We took an advantage of being stuck indoors for so long, and sorted out lots of our books.
Both DH and I are big book hoarders, and every few years we just have to "take the bull by it horns" and do something about it. Some books went to a local charity shop. But we took most of them, four big bagfuls, to the Barrington Court's "Book Barn". It's a very large second hand book shop, very well run by National Trust volunteers, with comfy chairs, where you can relax while choosing your next read.
The money raised helps towards the upkeep of the Barrington Court; one of the ladies working there told us that last year they raised nearly £30,000.
While there, we took the advantage of a reasonably dry day and had a walk around the gardens.
Despite the rain, or because of it, and because we haven't had a cold snap yet, there are still lots of flowers around.
The pumpkins are ready,
and at last some autumn colour too,
in the form of a magnificent, very old birch tree.
On Thursday I popped down to the Bath and West Showground.
The Craft4Crafters show is a regular, twice a year affair.
No "big names" exhibiting; a bit more textile stuff than usual, which was nice to see; also a chance to stock up with few things.
I was very "self controlled" and made only very small purchases -
I am sure these nice batik fabrics will come useful.
The creative spirit has somehow left me in the last few weeks.
I am still hand quilting St Germain quilt (a long process), and it is nice to have it on my lap, now it is chilly in the evenings.
A small nod to Christmas - I am working on the next cross stitch picture in the Santa Village series of 12 pictures; this is a long ongoing project.
This one is no 7.
May be another 2 years?.....
The 6 done so far.
So, what is is this about teddy bears?
This morning a new issue of Landscape magazine popped through the letter box; always a pleasure to read and I look forward to go through the whole magazine. But one article got my attention immediately,
the one about The Teddy Hospital in Lyme Regis in Dorset.
Alice's Bear Shop, Teddy Bear and Doll Hospital was opened by Rikey Austin some 20 years ago and they are more busy then ever.
There are some lovely stories in this article; about how the Hospital has grown, and about "patients" from near and far; a man who could not part with his teddy, so he had flown in with him from Bulgaria, and stayed in Lyme Regis while his bear was being mended!
Ted Wilson having a rest before his "operation".
Why was I so exited about reading all this? Because this is where my Mary-Jane came from; I bought her during one of our visits to Lyme Regis (not long after out move to Somerset), when Alice's Shop was mainly just that.
So, meet my "gang"; they all have names (of course).
Some were rescued from charity shops, some bought new, a couple of them I made myself.
This is George, he is rather special - a present from my son.
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