Garden Plans

Over the weekend, we finally assembled our new shed at the top of the garden:

(To the left you can just about see the hazel tree which the tree surgeon coppiced heavily a couple of weeks ago. This should grow back quite quickly into an attractive crown.)

This is a Big Deal in many ways, not least because the shed is no longer in the house. It is a replacement for this old shed which was falling apart when me moved in and has just deteriorated over the ten years that have passed since then:

Other things wrong with this old shed are:

1. It is right in front of the front door and blocks precious light coming into the house

2. It’s ugly

3. It leaks

4. It’s very hard to open the doors

5. Now we’ve had a couple of trees cut down and more light into the garden, it is in the perfect spot for sitting at a table, drinking tea and relaxing.

This is the view from inside the house:

Won’t that look inviting as a little terrace with pots of herbs, the honeysuckle and a little table and chairs? I’m also going to build a little hutch to house the bins. And we’re getting a new front door.

There’s quite a bit of wrangling ahead to get everything from the old shed into the new one along with various DIY stuff from the understairs cupboard. But I have fun plans to whip the garden into shape. I’ve planted a few herbs already and bought a tomato plant today. I was also cheered to see this list of low-maintenance perennials at Unclutterer.com. With a bit of work this year, next year the garden should be looking beautiful. 

Right. That’s me done blogging until I get back from holiday. I hope you all enjoy yourselves while I’m away and I’ll “see” you at the end of next week!

Positive and Negative

I forgot to do the final part of the Week Seven tasks:

HEART: Name one positive thing you intend to do for your image/self-image/look and one negative thing you vow NOT to keep doing.

The positive thing I am doing to trying to improve my posture. After all the “head up high, tummy in, pelvis under” advice over the years, a simple description in Tim Gunn’s ‘A Guide to Quality, Taste and Style’ finally made it easy for me to put this into practice. In this book, he talks about the ‘Bistro Position’, which is the way you hold your body when squeezing between tables in a packed restaurant. It was a lightbulb moment for me and I am reminding myself to adopt the Bistro Position whenever I remember. And it’s true, good posture does make a world of difference. I aim to keep plugging away until it is second nature.

The negative thing is that I am going to stop assuming that all the photos I see in magazines are real-life images. Wende’s links to Jezebel really opened my eyes to the reality of photoshopping. I never knew…

Leftovers - WT Week 7

I’m going on holiday tomorrow so I thought I’d whizz through WT Week Seven today.

Party Clothes

I bought a new dress last week:

As usual, the photo doesn’t do it justice. The colour is a sort of warm mushroom and it has more of a gentle sheen than the glitz in the photo. Also, it was reduced to £9. I bought it to wear to a friend’s wedding in June, but I think it will also be a good standby posh dress for emergencies.

I have also decided that the peach lamé number still in my wardrobe will go on eBay when I get back. I’m more curious to see if anyone wants to buy it than the cash it might generate.

Exercise or Sports Clothes

Yeah. Um. I dusted my trainers (translate: sneakers) back in Shoes Week. I also have a navy blue Speedo swimming costume and just checked to see if it had been eaten by moths and it’s OK. The only time I will ever wear it is when I have the opportunity to play at a water park with slides and rapids and stuff. I love those, but I hate swimming.

Oh, but I did buy some new walking sandals last week for our holiday (we’re going walking in Madeira):

They make me bounce like Tigger and are very supportive. I love them.

On the walking holiday front, I did have a crisis last week about what to wear. As you know, I’m quite overweight at the moment and I half-heartedly tried on various items of outdoorsy gear in shops before having the startling revelation that all I needed was the shoes. I plan to follow our Victorian lady foremothers and walk in skirts and dresses. The shoes look a little weird with dresses, but who’s going to complain? Sartorially sensitive mosquitos?

Uniforms, bridesmaids dresses, etc.

Nope.

Luggage

All sorted. One wheely suitcase. One weekend bag. One little rucksack. One giant rucksack ready to hitchhike round the globe.

Umbrellas

I just counted and we have five in the house. I think there is also one in my car. This is fine by me as I like to keep a little stock of them. I’m forever leaving them places and it’s also good to be able to send guests away in a sudden downpour with their own brolly. 

Phew! All done. That was easy.

General Update

On the work-at-home wardrobe front, I spent Saturday at the sewing machine doing fixies and alterations and finishing a jersey top I was making. I’m also knitting a wrap kind of thing at the moment and I’m not sure it will be finished by the end of next week for the Great Unveiling, but I’ll give it my best shot.