A Dreich Day...

So I got stuck into the house work. Still enjoying the novelty of seeing it all done in just over an hour. And I did some ironing, with an ordinary iron, no burns from the steam press I used to use!
Took photographs while it was all still clean and tidy!
These three shelf units contain most of our library. We still have boxes of books in the garage, but these are to be charity shopped or car booted.

A quick look outside. (Sorry my photos dont follow each other as they should but I have always had problems with Blogger and uploading photos.I am sure it is me that cannot come to grips with it.)

This hedge is a holly hedge. Not prickly, but Himself looked it up and it is an Ilex. Not as easy to trim as the Leylandii in the background, I imagine.

Outside the side of the kitchen patio door thyme and sage on the left and a baby bay tree on the right. In the summer house I have dill, chives, parsley and basil seeds planted. They are sitting on the windowsill/seat along with three tomato plants given by a friend who forgot I no longer had a greenhouse. Hopefully the Summer House will do the same job.

I love to see herbs flower. I also planted up some borage in the Summer House, a lovely blue flower. Just look at these chive flowers! Sage also in the pot, which will also flower.

This is the bed plonked in the middle of the lawn. It has huge clumps of hosta, two different kinds. Then these two potentillas. The one in the foreground looks a bit past it. Although it is struggling to flower. The main thing wrong with this bed is there will be no winter colour, not even an evergreen. Well there will be! But quite what not sure of yet.

Back indoors. This is Mike's chair. He doesnt like cushions. So none on his chair.

Unlike my seating area! Which has loads. I like to change the cushions seasonally. Unfortunately due to our move they still have the winter colours on. Although the two flowery ones are okay for now. I need to get down to my workroom/summer house and check my stash of fabric. I seem to remember having a pale green velvet curtain a friend donated which will be perfect, once made into cushion covers.

And this is Phoebe keeping a watchful eye on everything and making loud comments. She laid an egg yesterday. Hasnt done this for two years. I often put in cardboard boxes for her to play in and destroy. This time the box coincided with the biennial hormone surge. A lot of clucking and an egg. So we are back to wooden hanging toys until the stage passes. Hopefully she will also become much quieter. Phoebe is a yellow crowned amazon parrot. We have had her since she was three months old. She is now about 14. She was born and bred in Warwickshire. My daughters call her, 'Your feathered daughter.' She doesnt like Mike or any men, she will flash her eyes and flirt madly with any woman and loves blondes especially. You often see parrots advertised as being hand tamed and cuddly. Well, she is, but, unfortunately, only with me. I am the one that baths her, (plant spray with warm water), gets her to 'step up' and 'step down' and can get her back into the cage without any blood being spilled. Note the beak - she can crack a walnut.

Puzzle, one of our three cats, just checking he can eat from this bowl. He has a tendency to eat the other two cat's food first if you dont watch him and then eat his own at leisure. No sign of the nasty bite he had from Sith and the hair has grown back.

And last, but not least here is the nasty cat, Sith. He isnt really nasty, just a tad neurotic. Being cooped up with the other two cats whilst we moved was just too much for him. He is a very large cat with very large teeth. Very much a wimp, frightened of his own shadow, but moving day was just too much and he took it out on Puzzle.

Cait Sith is his proper name, which is Gaelic for Fairy Cat. He is nearly as big as the Kellas Cat to be found in Scotland which is a result of a Scottish Wild Cat mating with a feral cat. They are always black with white guard hairs, white round the groin. Everything that Sith has, hes just a couple of centimetres smaller. Measured nose to tail. We went to a meeting once at Aberdeen University Zoology Department. There in a glass case was a stuffed Sith! Thats how we found out about Kellas Cats.

Our third cat, Minerva McGonogall is no where to be seen. She keeps herself aloof from the two males. I will try and get a photo of her. She is my favourite. No whining, no pitiful miaowing, she just comes up politely and stares. I then say biscuits/go out/come in/ and she leaps off when I get the right question! Super intelligent. Female of the species always.

The weather seems to back to normal. We had some lovely weeks and weeks of sunshine. Mostly sorted in the house we are ready to make a real start in the garden, but now have the rain and cloud, not very conducive to gardening. Or sitting outside with a glass of wine.

Mindst you I can always do it inside.