Rainy Saturday.

Ooooh. Never had a paeony before. And now I have quite a few. Look at the size of those buds!

This one has a sort of zimmer frame (you know I knew there was a reason not to skip all those we found in our old loft - damn.) Theres another paeony in the front garden which is managing to stand up on its own with a bit of help from a very naked hydrangea. Just checked the spelling - did you know its a member of the buttercup family. Learn something new every day.

You can just about make out the buds on the poppy, equally huge.

I hope I can bring in some of the blooms as cut flowers. Although Poppies are not usually happy at this. I think one could float a paeony head in a bowl?

This is tucked under the holly hedge which runs down the side of the house. Mike says its holly, he looked it up, but its not prickly, tho the flowers coming do look like holly, so he is probably right. I first thought geum when I saw this orange flower as I had tried one at our previous home, but it wasnt quite like this, but my garden guru in Staffordshire says it is. Theres not much else actually in bloom at the moment so it is very welcome.

So today it rained. And rained. Mike was walking around as if he had lost the plot. So I threw him out. (He went to get the paper, lottery and look at the sea at Cairnbulg Harbour and took lots of photos with his new camera.) I took great pleasure in cleaning the whole of the downstairs, vacced, dusted, mopped, hung a few more pictures up all in the space of ONE hour. Would have taken me the whole day to do half of this at the last house.

We have been invited to make up a table at the Waterside this evening. One of my friends dresses tables and chairs and does stationery for weddings. Tonight she is sponsoring the Buchan Queen event and will have done their tables and chairs and there is also mention of a starlight curtain.(? Hmm. ) Fortunately I had bought a dress in Tescos Sale. £8. Bargain. But when I got it out this morning I thought it was not really evening wear. So I shot off to Peterhead to look for another. No luck in any of my usual haunts, New Look, Dorothy Perkins and M and Co. So I decided to glam up what I had got. Shoes, handbag, ear rings and necklace and a shrug. My £8 dress has just had 5 times as much spent on it so that I can not be frowned upon.......

But as I said to the woman in M & Co who was rambling on about everyone being in a ball gown, that I wasnt an entrant and I was by now fed up of the whole idea. So she sold me the shrug and said I could bring it back if it didnt go. Well it does.

If all goes well I will post a picture of me in bloom. Otherwise - well I'll just put myself on the compost heap.