Wednesday was another cold frosty day with fog, didn't see a view all day. Most of the day was spent doing admin, plant lists, sourcing lists, blogs, uploading photos while sitting right next to the heater (I've moved it right next to my seat). I am getting through all the admin and planning tasks I set myself over winter, although as I score one off task off the whiteboard list, I seem to be adding another six on at the other end! I was going to go home early but ended up chatting to Brennan in the cafe and Dee in the gallery. Then David arrived on his way between work and picking up Adam, so we had a coffee before heading home. I spent the evening doing more plant lists for sourcing and food shopping.
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| We all need some cheering up, there were this weeks flowers I did for the cafe |
Thursday was another similar day of working through the paper work. I got to the point where I could order plants for during the year and have almost finished compiling a complete stock list of what has been stocked before, then I can archive all the old documents and work from one. I was doing well until the charger for my lap top went crackle crackle BANG and smoked a bit! So that was that, no charged lap top and I was frozen. I packed up and headed home to a warm cosy house and another lap top to carry on with work. At tea time youngest and I headed to his school for parents evening. After his fantastic report last week, there wasn't a lot else to talk to the teachers about. He is a star pupil, intelligent, good at his work, well behaved, keen to help and get involved in discussions and volunteer information, confident and capable of doing more than the next level up of work (proud Mum moment).
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| Dinner on Thursday was a potato and cheese pie and salad, with a whole camabert in the middle, melted and gooey |
This cold lurgy thing is making it so hard to get up in the morning, despite the fact I am sleeping right through the night (very unusual). Once up and organised it was out into a surprisingly warm morning. The temperatures have shot up over night from -2C yesterday to 8C today! It was windy with it though and there had been a lot of rain over night and more flooding on the way to the nursery. The upside is I can turn off the greenhouse heater and save gas and money. I spent the first part of the morning doing the flowers for the cafe and catching up with Linda and Andrew. Before heading back to the office to do some emails. The weather dried up and I had hoped to get outside and do some real work in the nursery, it's been a while, but the wind was chilly. So I opted for potting up some plants that have been sitting since Christmas. Now they have de frosted, it was a quick enough job to get them into big pots and lovely fresh compost. They will be fabulous come spring and summer. After lunch David came over and we skived off to go on a shopping trip for the nursery, so technically work.
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| Lots of sledges |
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| Strange the things you find in an antique shop |
We managed to get the item we went looking for, a set of shelves for our bits and pieces of antiques n stuff to sell. We got it in the car just, but it will do the job and we got some money off it too, success. Once we have it in place and set up I'll share some photos. Then it was home for tea, oldest is away for the weekend and David's son is here, so one in, one out. Looking forward to a relaxing evening. The lurgy is catching up.
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| Flowers from my guy, the tartan ribbon is for Burns night apparently |
Saturday was dry, so good to have a dry day at last. It was lovely to get outside in the nursery and get on with some tidying and work. Although I do't mind the paper work and admin on cold frosty days, I do enjoy being outside. I spent the morning finishing the first row of willow weaving on the lower terrace. Yeh! I'm really quite pleased with my first attempt at this, only the back row to go now! After lunch I started tidying the border in front of the office. After removing several loads of leaves and plant debris I went looking for stones to edge the border. Nothing fancy, jut to keep the gravel out the soil and give it an edge. I'd spotted some stones on the terrace while willow weaving and some where the digger has levelled out the route of our new path to the tunnel. I just need to find another half dozen stones, put some fertiliser on the border and top dress with compost from the compost bins and it's finished.
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| From this on Saturday, border in front of office |
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| To this on Sunday |
On Sunday I spent the day lifting leaves in the sales area. Oh how I hate lifting leaves off gravel, but needs must. By the end of the day I had most of the job done and the worst of the leaves lifted. Another couple of hours should see it done. No doubt after the winds forecast for the next two days when I am off there will be more back where I've lifted them! David spent Sunday strimming the last of the bankings and terraces and it looks so much tidier now. Again he has a couple of hours worth of strimming left to do and then we'll have two jobs scored off the job list.
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Lots of Chafinches and Gold finches have been coming to the
bird table now we've stocked it up again. |
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| The in place to eat in this neck of the woods! |
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| Gold finch enjoying some tasty morsel in the grass |
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| The not so birdy visitor to the bird table! |
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| Hebe popwellii in a trough at home |
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| Hebe popwellii with the macro lens |
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| This was supposed to be Helleborus 'Double Ellen Red', maybe not, very pretty all the same. |
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| Hepatica noblis |
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| One of my own selected Hellebore seedlings |
Monday and a great long lie after a full night's sleep, unusual but much appreciated. The weather was very wet and windy all day so it was a day of keeping warm and dry in the house and catching up with chores. We've stocked up the bird table with food and when I got up there were over twenty five chaffinches and eight gold Finches, a couple of great tits and a blue tit. It was very busy and of course there was the squirrel as you can see in the photos above. Fortunately after a windy weather night everything is still in place at home. I'm hoping that all the leaves haven't blown back over the sales area again where I lifted them on Sunday! I got the house cleaned and several other things too before continuing with paper work for the nursery.
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| Abstract photos in B&Q! |
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| Abstract photos in B&Q! |
Tuesday was another very wet and windy day, but at least it's not so cold with this mad rise in temperatures. The plants are going to be so confused. We set off to Livingston to do some shopping and errands. I was after a nice big, smart bag for work, I knew what I wanted, finding it was not so easy, but perseverance (and patience on David's part) paid off and I got a bargain at £49, reduced from £149! To help David recover we went for a buffet lunch, which was nice, good food and watching the world go by before braving the weather again to do the rest of our shopping. Lastly we went to a DIY store and picked all sorts of things to let us get on with various jobs around the nursery. So a good day getting lots of things sorted, making me feel organised, especially as we have a lot going on over the next couple of weeks or so. I am looking forward to sharing all our plans and ideas we are working on for the nursery with you as they happen.
Enjoy the rest of your week.
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Hey Rona,
ReplyDeleteI've really enjoyed this post. It's so lovely to hear what other people are getting up to. Your nursery seems to be coming on apace, due to your hard work. And brilliant to hear about your son and his fabulous parent's evening. You should be proud; he sounds like a lovely young man. Here's hoping that the rain and wind dies down enough for you to get outside more. I'm afraid the weather had curtailed any efforts in my garden. It's so bedraggled out there, and I'm itching to get out. But not enough to want to garden in a howling gale!
Have a great week.
Leanne xx
Hi Leanne, thanks for commenting, I am feeling frustrated at not getting out in the garden too. So much to do and so much rain, snow and cold, professional or not, there is a limit to what weather I will garden in too lol. We have lots of plans for the nursery this year and will hopefully achieve some of them, but its down to weather, time and money, what's new? :) Youngest son has done extremely well, he has aspergers, so is challenged in that way too, but overcomes it brilliantly as he gets older. If I'd known he would manage so well when first diagnosed and it was all so difficult a few years ago, it would have been easier, but we've made it :) he's a star. Hope you have a great week too xx
ReplyDeleteGood to read you are able to keep yourself (and David of course) busy. I hope Harry wasn't too cruel to you there Rona. You must be incredibly proud of your youngest, in fact I can almost hear it in your writing. Well done to him!
ReplyDeleteThere's never a lack of things to do Angie, but I'd rather be busy which a good thing given the nursery, lol. We survived the latest storm with roofing felt off Davids shed roof, a broken pain of glass in the wee greenhouse at home and no damage at the nursery, so that was a relief. I'd visions of the tunnel taking off!Hope you had no dammage either.
DeleteAngie has taken the words out of my mouth Rona :) I was wondering whether you had escaped the wrath of Storm Henry. Glad to read that the nursery escaped unscathed. Hope that the dreaded lurgy is now a thing of the past.
ReplyDeleteHi Anna, we have made it through another storm, if we can cope with these 65 MPH gusts then all looks well for the future! The lurgy has gone thanfully and I'm sleeping better again, I'm using my SAD lamp daily and wether that is helping sleep or it's a coincidence, I'm not sure, but I feel good and thats great :) especially as the busy season looms :) Have a great weekend.
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