The grand unveiling

I've finished my arbour!
A friend of mine has nicknamed it the Moomin House, because it reminds him of the house from the cartoon I used to watch 30 years ago called the Moomins.
It just started raining as I finished it and it does exactly what I wanted it to - keeps me dry! It was very hard to construct by myself I must admit and should probably have tried to get someone to help me, but I perservered and am thrilled with the results.

I think it compliments the garden pretty well, I'm sure you will agree.

Summer garden photos

The weather is still a bit grey and rainy today, but I went out and took some garden photos anyway as it is looking nice.

 It is a riot of colour and everything looks so healthy out there.

Looking back at the house past the inferno of runner beans.

The new bed. It has done very well, although the nasturtiums are slightly past their best. They will look better when the next flowers come.The foxgloves were at their peak 2 weeks ago but I still like the long green seed stems.

Giant daisies always make me smile.

Sorry for my absence.

Hello everyone,
Yes, it has been weeks, I know. Thanks to those messages asking me if i was ok - nice to be missed. I am fine thanks, just been away working a lot and when home just overwhelmed with so much to do.
My garden is looking glorious. I was very worried because i was away for the 10 days we had of glorious weather. Amazingly, not only did everything survive, but it all positively thrived. I will take some photos on the next nice day.
Most of my time since I returned has been taken up with the bathroom refit. Gosh, bathrooms are hard. I think perhaps I have bitten off more than I can chew, and it takes a lot for me to admit that. I have everything installed but the u-bends leak on both the sink and the bath. Bugger. I am thinking it is time to call in a professional to just stop the leaks before I go any further. Well, at least I have installed everything and laid the new floor. once the leaky u-bends are started I can get going on the tiling and finish the thing off. I have been without sink and bath/shower since last Thursday and it is wearing. At least the loo is in, working and pretty (as pretty as any loo can be) and I have put in an outside tap. The shower seems to be ok too, although I can't use it until the other problems are sorted and I have tiled.
I'm off to France for 11 days on Thursday (work) so it would be great to at least get a few things finished before I go. My most exciting thing is that I am building a covered arbour in the corner of my garden. Another difficult one man job, but it will be worth it. What I discovered in the mini heatwave was that it was simply too hot in my South facing garden with no shade at all (boohoo I hear you cry) so decided a covered arbour would be lovely. also somewhere to sit if there is light rain too. Pictures of that to follow too, when I eventually finish it.
I'll try to get back into the swing of blogging soon, and I will try taking and uploading some pictures to make it all a bit more interesting next time.

Evolution of a flower bed

Short photographic post today.

Remember the island bed I dug out earlier this year ready to create? I thought it would be fun to show the photos of how it has changed to date.

Just wait until the flowers begin to bloom now!

Little working holiday in Purbeck.

I am having a duvet day. I was working in Dorset for a couple of nights Thursday and Friday and I started my 5 hour car journey back to Lancashire after work finished at 10pm Friday. You can tell just why I am so tired today. Crazy most people called me as I set off but, for me, more crazy is wasting the whole of yesterday on busy roads when I could be home. I managed it all without a stop (for once, my pea sized bladder didn't let me down) and was in my bed by 3 am. What made it most exhasuting was the fact that I only drove there the day before ready to work from 2 until 10.
No other expenses as a lovely lady put myself and another singer up for the night and was most welcoming to us, so kind of someone to open up their home to two strange men, just because they assume opera singers are nice and honest people (which, of course, we mostly are).
Yesterday I only had to be back working at 3, so my friend and I went for an explore, which was like a mini (very mini) holiday. We got up early and were on our way by 9 with only a vague idea where to go, just drive and stop when we feel like it. We headed out and made our first stop at Corfe Castle for a quick wander around the town. It is very small, but exceedinly perfect in every way, a true Dorset village (overrun with visitors of course.) We didn't do the castle as it was quite expensive, but as it was a ruin anyway, just looked at it from afar.

It is everything that a ruined castle should be.

I was most excited because, so the stories go, it is the castle that Enid Blyton based her Famous Five's Kirrin Castle on (there is an Enid Blyton shop in the town)

Back in the car and on to Studland where we stopped and walked to Harry's old Rocks. It was a pleasant walk and we found a very small crop of rather tired, but still pungent wild garlic growing in the hedgerow. I took a few leaves and shoved them in my pocket for some pasta tonight.

After the walk we moved on again for a quick lunch of egg butties in Swanage, which is one of those very old fashioned coastal resort towns, now populated by retired people walking along the prom. It was really, really lovely (and my expectations had been quite low having been brought up near Blackpool).

A quick trip to a garden centre and finally on to my rehearsal at Lulworth Castle.

Quite a lot to pack into a morning off, but I loved every second and the weather was extremely kind to us.

Phlox

It's been a gorgeous week here in the UK, every day for a week or more has been one of bright hot sunshine and blue skies. Besides a couple of days work in London I have been lucky enough to be off and able to enjoy it. Sadly, the weather is a bit grey today for the first time in ages and rain is forecast. Oh, well, at least I won't have to water the garden today.

The unknown plant that I thought was nemesia I have now changed that opinion and I think that it is a type of  phlox.

Anyone any thoughts?

Cheap and cheerful lentil curry

Tonight I made a dead cheap and delicious lentil curry. Everything in it is cheap after the initial outlay of spices, which will last for many a curry in the future.

Ingredients.

1 lg onion, chopped

3 cloves of garlic, crushed

4 green chillies chopped

350ml water

4g turmeric

140g red lentils

30g yellow split lentils

4 tbsp of oil

2 dried chilles

2 tablespoons of curry leaves

Teaspoon of mustard seeds

Teaspoon of cumin seeds

1 can of chopped tomatoes

Method

To a pan of 350ml water add the onion, fresh chilli, turmeric and all the lentils.

Bring to the boil and simmer slowly for 35 minutes or until the lentils are soft. Add more water if it gets dry.

Break up the lentils with a potato masher, add 2 teaspoons of salt and the can of tomatoes, mixing well.

Bring back up to a gentle simmer and cook to a thick sauce for 10 minutes, remove from heat.

Warm the oil in a saucepan over a medium heat, add the garlic, curry leaves, cumin seeds and mustard seeds and dried chilles and cook until the garlic browns.

Pour the oil and spices into the lentil pan and cover.

After 5 minutes stir the lentil mix well, taste and season to suit, garnish with coriander leaves if you have any.

I reckon this was 4 of my greedy portions.