Very Quick Garden Update!

We won't ever win prizes for speed (life gets in the way too often!) but the garden is progressing, one baby-step at a time.

David has begun to dig out the raised lawn at the front of the house, which will eventually provide a pull in off the road for the car. As we've dug over the narrow border and dug out some of the earth, we have discovered some lovely smooth, weathered sandstone rocks, small boulders really, so I've put them to use as the beginnings of a mini rockery which will conveniently provide a demarcation zone between the raised level of the narrow side border and the lower ground level.

Ivy, Thrift and Campanula, to be joined by London Pride and grasses later.

 We've also levelled the 'path' somewhat, and dug out half-bricks, cobbles, coal and what must have been some of the original 80 year old builders rubble in the process. We've had to use some of the earth we've dug out at the front in an attempt to bring it up to something approaching level. A layer of weed-suppressant membrane has gone down to help prevent walking dirt into the house.

These concrete steps have so far failed to yield to all mere physical attempts to demolish them, but their end is nigh - David is determined to take a steel saw to them and lay in a gentle slope alongside that of our neighbours which will lead up to the front door.

The borders look pretty nondescript at the moment, but they will provide an area of permanent planting round the edge of the pull in, and some containers will add a splash of colour under the windows, while some little friends (yes, I realise that I will never be allowed to exhibit at Chelsea, ha ha!) make me smile and David shake his head in disbelief...!

 

 

Mini Me and Mini Him!

Meanwhile, in the back garden, the fence along the right-hand side is now complete, and we have an area to swallow up some of the earth from the front diggings to bring up the levels and reduce the slope towards the house.

It might not look like very much at the moment, but it represents a vast improvement from three years ago when this was an expanse of overgrown bushes, dying trees and neglected privet hedging. in fact, when we bought the house, we assumed that the garden was at least a third shorter than this because you could neither see nor get through the undergrowth to the back wall! 
Hopefully, it will improve further in time, and at least Bacchus/Dionysus has found his rightful place on the far wall, having travelled to this, his third home with me!

Family Friday

On Friday we went over to Leeming to visit Lizz and the girls, who had Jon, Elisha and Alex staying for the weekend.
It was lovely to catch up with them, and take a new batch of photos of the grandchildren, who seem to have grown up almost beyond recognition every time we see them - one of the penalties of long distance grandparent-hood!

Alex pushing Freya around for a change!

Freya putting her shoes on before going out to play.

We had bought Freya and Alex a little watering can each - we liked the design as they had a very small filling hole on the top, preventing (hopefully) water from slopping out between tap and garden. I liked the design so much that I bought one for myself for watering my containers - by the design, I mean the fact that it is relatively spillproof, not that it is a charming bright orange plastic elephant, ha ha!

Little Alex trotting around with his watering can..

...then letting his daddy carry the can, so to speak...

...before dashing off to do something more exciting instead!

Unfortunately, this left Daddy with the watering can to play with...!

Boys will be boys!

 Freya, meanwhile, was getting the hang of using her new     watering can.

Quite the little gardener, keeping Grandpa busy filling the can.

More please, Grandpa!

While Freya was watering, Alex was playing with sticks and stones (who needs toys!) and eventually the children, big and small, ended up on the slide and climbing frame...

Lizz was looking after baby Chloe, and Alex had discovered the fun to be had climbing over the backs of the springy fold-down garden chairs...

The look that says "Mother, put my picture on your blog at your peril...!"

 

Freya had gone very quiet at this point and had gone back  to her watering...

She must have become aware that nobody was taking very much notice of what she was doing, so she had a quick double check that she wasn't being observed...

              and decided to see what being a flower feels like...

                      Wet presumably!



Fortunately, she has a very laid-back Mummy, who saw the funny side, even if she privately felt that Spy-Granny should have prevented the soaking!

It was lovely to catch up with the family, and we appreciated the lunch that Lizz had laid on, complete with chocolate cake provided by Elisha, as did the little ones...!

 

If I'd known what fun my grandchildren were going to be, I'd have had them first!

Visitors!

After Jon and Elisha's wedding, we came back to our wee house in the North with Mother in tow, for her first visit to our (relatively) new home.
The weather was pleasant for most of the 10 days she was with us and we were able to take her out and about, showing her some of the wide range of features that make up West Cumbria - the sea, the skies, the hills, lakes and mountains, and visiting some of the local attractions, such as The Beacon in Whitehaven, the Senhouse Roman Museum in Maryport, and Castlerigg Stone Circle.
I suspect that the probable highlight for her was when my daughter Lizz paid us a visit from Leeming, bringing her two little girls to see their Great Grandma.

Lizz and Baby Chloe

Mother's Pride!

Deep in concentration!

Freya's menagerie

Freya makes a call to her Daddy!

Great Grandma and Baby Chloe

Great Grandma with Freya and Chloe

Family history in the making - four generations makes it so interesting to compare family members looks and mannerisms!


I believe a photo exists somewhere of five previous generations of my family together, although I have never seen it. It was taken on the occasion of the birth of my cousin Marion around 1943, and showed her and her mother Thora Seabrook nee Bales (my father's eldest half-sister), plus Thora's mother Lily Parsons (nee Girling, then Bales), grandmother Emily Girling, (nee Cattermole) and great-grandmother Susannah Cattermole (nee Godfrey), who was over 100 at the time. 

I would love to see that photo!