Painting and thinking

I've been v. busy painting the kitchen, trying to bake a Christmas cake and finally coming round to the idea that Christmas is nearly upon us. I've also been trying to think of gifts to make - I've got a few ideas just to need to implement them. Which is easier thought of than done.

Can I just say that I'm not impressed with Dulux Kitchen paint. So far the bare plaster has had 1 coat of sealer, and 3 coats of white paint and it still looks patchy. So patchy that I'm thinking another 2 coats will be needed. If I had the superpower of rewinding time and changing the past, I would've given a coat of Once or even the washable paint and then finished off with 2 layers of the kitchen paint, but I don't which is a little irritating but as 'they' say 'You live and you learn.'  The ceiling is officially finished and it's had nearly 4 coats (ok 3 official coats and one coat in the middle which makes nearly 4 -see!)

Of course I'm hoping for the big reveal when you can see befores and afters which will be tricky as I kept deleting horrible photos of the hall and I have yet to achieve tidiness in the daylight, plus there were some issues with the lights, and .....(insert mega list of excuses here).

no photos today since the photo uploader tool is on strike. But imagine 3 very scary pumpkins.

A free magazine

From here I found Lonny magazine.

I'm still decorating the hall. Just when I think I've finished I have to redo something. First time it was the woodwork, and this time it's the hall ceiling.

Hopefully soon I can move on to the kitchen. But I daren't predict just when.

Otherwise all is tickety boo.

July already?

What's going on with this year? It's July, last couple of weeks of the school term and then it's my favourite time of year, 6 + weeks of the little darlings.

One thing that is happening this year is a holiday on the West Coast which will be lovely, even if unexpected.

Then only another 5 weeks to fill, which I am sure will be filled but at the moment my mind is a blank. Please let it be a dry and warm summer. It makes life so much easier.

I'd also thought I'd introduce Sherry before her time runs out. Sherry is our neighbour's cat, she's 19 and is often round at ours for food. She's unbelievably bold despite being chased away by our cats at various times. Angus wasn't initially that bothered then he gave her a beating a while back and now he's back to pretending he can't see her in our garden. She's always been good for her age, but I 'm starting to wonder how long she has so without further ado.

Sherry in our kitchen.

Does anyone else do this, frantic cleaning of the house before the holidays where you declutter as much as you can? Or is it just me?

Scotland tips

I've been asked by a few people for ideas on a trip to Scotland.

First off let me say that I normally visit my mum in North Fife so that's the area that I know best nowadays cos it's a bit of a schlep with 3 children and only one driver (me) from London - 450 miles to be exact. But in my time I've traveled a fair bit around Scotland, but not really to the very far north or outer islands.

Where to go

Well, it would depend on what you're looking for

- empty spaces, lochs and mountains - head to the Highlands esp the Grampians, and Aviemore would make a good base.

empty spaces and empty beaches - why let me suggest Ardnamurchan in the far west. Or head towards Morar and Arisaig.

People, culture, history and lots of family friendly activities - Glasgow, it's loud, proud and overwhelmingly friendly. Edinburgh - beautiful but a bit snooty. Or anywhere in the Central Lowlands, towns like Stirling are attractive, handy rail and motorway links to all major cities and the Highlands.

Monsters - Loch Ness - where else?

Surfing - head to the far north for some great waves but cold sea - pack your wetsuit.

Want everything - try Fife, coal towns, beaches, universities, pretty fishing villages in the East Neuk, great food, festivals like the Big Tent or smaller local ones like Newburgh and Auchtermuchty. Culross is pretty cool as a place to visit too. Incredibly rich farmland and then round the next bend, some lochs and scenery like the West Coast. Mustn't forget golf eg the birthplace of golf at the Royal and Ancient. Rail links to Edinburgh, easy to reach Dundee by train or car.

Supplied free of charge - stunning, beautiful scenery wherever you go and the people are very friendly.

Weather wise

As a generalisation, the East is slightly drier and warmer, while the West is wetter and milder. The fact is if the sun shines all day you are very lucky, the weather is usually a couple of degrees cooler than London, it never gets stiflingly hot and muggy though. In the last couple of summers '07 and '08 we've had better (dryer) weather for the week i was up than the folks back in London and they were poor summers. Pack waterproofs and layers and you'll be fine.

Scotland isn't particularly cheap for accommodation and it does tend to be booked far ahead esp cottages, but there are loads of B&Bs, and hotels as well.

More links

Edinburgh Festival

the Fringe

Scottish Tourist Board

Skye - an island now reachable by bridge, other islands are available.

Inverness - capital of the highlands makes a great base for exploring, history, shopping and dolphins.

Other advice, take your camera, and for some this will be a bonus but there are large areas with no mobile coverage, it depends on the population density, so towns will be fine but a mountain not so much.

If you decide to go you'll have a great time.

my back garden part 1

First, let me show you the herb garden which I planted up 10 years ago, and most of the herbs did well, but time adds woodiness and congestion to the bed and it became compacted. So here we have an early April shot after I decided to remove the fennels and alpine strawberries and cut back on the marjoram on the right hand side. I'm leaving the large droopy rosemary till it stops flowering because what bees there are love it so much.

Here are after photos taken a few days ago.

On the left hand bed, I've put in a new lavender in the centre, two French tarragons, a sage and an oregano as well as a couple of violas, you can't see the yellow viola any more cos the slugs love it despite the pellets I put down. In the right hand bed we have a new rosemary in the centre as well as 3 lavenders on the right. The bright green at the front is a gorgeous lemon thyme which is wonderful for cooking. I need to work out a new method of maintaining the border edge with the grass, one which allows me to cut the grass easily without allowing it to wander into the herb bed.

This is an overview of the back garden, my wasn't it cloudy, the best you could say about the weather is that it wasn't raining.

Last weekend we had this. A series from left to right of my new border with new shrubs.

First, a Black Lace Sambuca (Elder), then a Gunner Manicata, which should grow huge, and in the background a shade loving Hellebore. Next to that though hard to spot is a Quince tree Vranja which should fruit in three years. In  the right hand corner we have two black bamboos, which were 3 for 2, guess the corner one you can't see was the freebie. And over by the south facing wall we have a Cotinus.

Finally the three side borders which are south facing. Over the years I've removed a couple of shrubs which were way overgrown, it's been overcome with convulvulus for a long time and it's still a problem, hence my reuctance to put in shrubs, but if I don't now I never will so ...

Firstly, we have a bed of self sown lemon balm, lady's mantle and feverfew, in the back I've planted a blackcurrant bush, since removed and some fennels and alpine strawberries. In the middle bed, the grey stuff is Stachys Byzantina which is lovely and soft to touch and has managed to stay in the garden despite my hacking at it over the years. The pot has a big hosta which usually succumbs to slugs despite my best efforts, I did want to plant in the new border but missed my window of opportunity before it really sprouted, maybe next year.

In the middle bed, it's lots of aquilegias which are all self seeded. In the right hand back corner we have an Exochorda 'The Bride' which has white flowers in June. And finally in the right hand bed, we have mostly emptiness as this is where I want to sow some veggies like mange tout and Broad Beans, there are some aquilegias at the back and we have a flowering Japanese quince 'Jet Trail' which has white flowers near the bottom. The last pic is an overview of all 3 beds.

That's the current state of the garden and if you read this far well done.