A very pleasant summer

I'm a little ashamed to keep putting up blog posts as most of what I have to blog about is just the state of the garden (which, with a little weeding and a little watering is mostly taking care of itself).

L. and I haven't done too much on the house lately - we've been busy sporting, socialising, and, in my case, sewing.

This is my latest work in progress (for a friend who hopefully doesn't read here).

I still haven't decided how I want to finish the edges off (so, friend of mine who is expecting a little one soon and likes this type of fabric and tea - if you are reading this, do let me know your preference :) ).

And now, back to the usual garden report.

Most of the suspicious 'weeds' have proven their worth by producing some lovely flowers.

The tiny seedling tomatoes that the parents kindly gave us in May have turned into water-sucking monsters.

And the peppers have taken off too -- though still no fruit from either.

Lukas harvested the first of the beetroots today.

A few more lovely-and-fiery radishes have been eaten.

And the courgettes....oh, the courgettes! I love courgettes normally, but I'm a little worried I won't be able to appreciate grocery store courgettes now that I've tasted truly fresh courgettes.

From vine....

to documentation.....

...to dinner in under half an hour. Oh, the deliciousness!

We'll have to wait a bit longer for the pumpkins, though they certainly are coming on nicely.

Production!

After an exceptionally dry spring, the rain has returned. Oddly enough, L. and I applauded the wetness as we were getting rather concerned about the amount of water we were suddenly having to spend keeping the veggies alive.

With the rain came a big boost of productivity and (hurray!) colour.

Our attempt to re-seeding the lawn in the back seems to be something of a success (albeit a bit patchy).

And the courgettes have really started to thrive.

Fortunately, we have Lilith on scarecrow duty.

In which I become a supplier

When we first started planting things for the garden, we decided it would be interesting to plant some cat nip for the kittens.

Well, it has finally grown to a state when we can start introducing it to them.

Happy Esme is a fan.

Sooooo happy.

.....but she is possibly too enthusiastic.

From May 2011

So, we've had to resort to keeping it hidden.

Meanwhile, Lilith is not nearly as excited about the cat nip.

Apparently, she prefers fattier fare.

The first fruits!

Our battles against snails, mold, aphids and (shockingly enough) drought have resulted in a number of casualties on both sides. However, when gazing at our rapidly growing garden, it [mostly] seems all worth it.

The surviving courgettes and pumpkins.

The veggie patch.

My beloved lupins.

This is supposed to be a charming collection of English wild flowers...but even I admit that it looks suspiciously like a well-watered patch of weeds. Time will tell....

Even more exciting than the growth of leaves is the arrival of the fruits of our labour, mainly the pears!

The currants!

The gooseberries (though, as you can see, they've been brutally savaged)

And, from the veggies, the first of our peas (which have so far proven to be very tasty)

And our first (and, sadly, only) radish.

We shared the lovely thing and I can attest that my half was delicious.

More door installation

May has been a busy month, but somehow we managed to find the time to put up another of my lovely doors (which, I'm sure L will be quick to point out, we bought not long after we bought the house and have been moving from room to room as necessary).

... by 'we' I mean 'I' put up the door - all by myself while L was at cricket.

I'm rather proud of it...and glad to get the old one out.

Admittedly, though, I might have been a little too enthusiastic when shaving off the top of it...

Along with putting up the doors, we also managed to get latches and handles installed...with the help of Dad.

I really like them and we (and our guests, no doubt) are really appreciating being able to properly close our bedroom door.

Just one more door to go....

S prarodičem

Blog posts have been a little sparce these past few weeks - primarily because we were busy with L.'s grandparents. The visit started in Prague....

And then we drove - yes, drove - home.

Since we decided to do it in two - yes, two - days, I don't have much in the way of photographic evidence of the trip.

Though, here is the cute place we stopped at outside of Liege.

The rooms were nice and the owner was very friendly and helpful (she even helped me make a sandwich for our poor driver).

But, soon it was back on the road...
And then on to the sea!

A little nap, a little lunch, and then (excitingly!) the famous cliffs of Dover.

Then (of course) it was back into the car for the final stretch.

(Here the driver contends with the varying directions of the TomTom, grandfather, grandmother, and, of course, me)

We got a drive-by view of some nice sites...but I must say I was terribly happy to be home.