Ellie Meets Dumpy

Today’s temperature was warmer and the air still.

Jackie and Dillon transported the last of our collection of garden refuse to Efford Recycling Centre this morning. Afterwards, the Head Gardener, in her general maintenance tasks produced more weeds and clippings for me to fill the first two bags to start the next stack.

Regular readers will know that it is rare for us to leave the dump empty handed. Today there were rich pickings.

Jackie brought back three garden chairs to replace some of our older seating;

and a ride-on donkey naturally named Dumpy. Slightly quizzical at first, Ellie quickly caught on to its purpose

Our great granddaughter kissed Dumpy goodbye when she set off on an outing with her parents. The jacket she is wearing was knitted by her Gram Gram Becky.

This evening we all dined on Red Chilli takeaway fare – as promptly delivered and as well cooked as always. My choice was Naga Chilli Lamb and Special Fried Rice; we shared a peshwari naan and Ponir Tikka: others may state their main courses should they wish. Jackie finished the rosé and I finished the La Vieille Ferme.

Handmade From The Heart

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Claire and Andrew, who are ‘Handmade from the Heart’ (hmftheart145@gmail.com) visited on time this afternoon in order to deliver a table made to match the four garden chairs built for us two years ago. They also came equipped with the wherewithal to freshen up the original seats by tightening bolts loosened by heavy winds and applying a new coat of paint. Andrew makes the furniture and shares the painting with his wife. This personable and friendly couple produce good, very reasonably priced, garden furniture in which they take pride. They are thoroughly recommended.

This evening we watched the second one day international between England and Australia televised on Channel 5 with platefuls of spicy pepperoni pizza on a bed of fresh, moist, salad on our knees.

Scents Of The Garden

This morning I received a phone call from Lymington Hospital offering me a cancellation for laser treatment to my left eye on Friday. The ensuing conversation was entertaining. I began by explaining that I would be happy to attend if they fast forwarded my recovery time from the knee surgery.

Otherwise, my day involved unsuccessful attempts to sleep; reading; and looking out onto rather overcast skies shrouding  a damp garden. I am still trying to take it easy.

Among the blooms covering the trellis in the front garden are those of a most fragrant pink rose. Jackie has placed one in a vase on the windowsill beside my corner chair. The  photographs also contain my dosset box which, in theory, helps me to remember my medication times and dosages.

Chairs

At the end of a fairly dank afternoon, we received a delivery of two chairs from ‘Handmade From The Heart’. Jackie photographed them on their decking platform.

The Rose Garden lies beyond the decking. Fearing that some of the new roses would perhaps fade before I could reach them, Jackie, who wanted me vicariously to enjoy the sweet scent of ‘Twice in a Blue Moon’, photographed that, too. This had been our witty daughter’s wedding present to us last year.

This evening, I really relished Jackie’s succulent roast chicken dinner with superb gravy from the juices of the meat; new potatoes, crisp carrots, greens and manges touts

 

‘Did You See Those Chairs?’

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On another dull morning I scanned the last few colour slides from 1980.

Becky pushing pushchair 10.80 1

In October Becky enjoyed pushing the buggy in Tooting Common.

Becky pushing Sam in pushchair / Piper 10.80

Sam 10.80

There was someone in it. That was Sam.

Jessica and Becky pushing Sam 10.80

Jessica was also on the walk.

Matthew 11.804

Here is Matthew the following month,

Matthew and Sam 12.80Sam 12.80

and in December with Sam, who,

Sam 25.12.80 3

on 25th was helped by Michael to open his first Christmas presents,

Derrick and Sam 25.12.80

And, of course, we had a festive tree.

This afternoon we took a trip to New Milton to buy a posting tube for Pauline’s parcel, post it, and take a waistcoat to Johnson’s Cleaners. We began with the tube from the art suppliers. We made up the parcel outside the shop, parked a bit nearer the Post Office, and went our separate ways – Jackie to the cleaners and me to the Post Office.

Garden Chairs

On the way I walked past two garden chairs of the perfect size for me, displayed outside Hand Made New Forest. Following the invitation, I tried them, and found them to be extremely comfortable.

When Jackie met me outside the Post Office a short while later I asked ‘Did you see those chairs?’. ‘I saw them,’ she replied with a broad smile, ‘and I sat in them’. ‘Shall we get a pair?’ was my next unnecessary question. We ordered a couple, of a different colour.

By early evening the weather had cleared enough for us to take drinks in the rose garden, where

Roserie de la Haie

Roserie de la Haie is flourishing;

Rose Garden

and the mirror behind Golden Showers happily reflects the similar hued Laura Ford filling the gap between between the two levels of the climber.

This evening we dined on spicy pork with vegetable risotto, followed by profiteroles. Jackie drank Hoegaarden and I finished the malbec.

Container Delivery

Today we transported four more bags of cuttings to Efford Recycling Centre.

Cuttings bags

The first two,

Back drive

giving us the sense of a light at the end of the tunnel,

we disposed of before lunch. For most of the winter the heaps have lain the length of the left hand side of the drive. Most are from the griselinia hedge that Aaron trimmed in the autumn.

daffodils, pansies, primroses

The left hand corner of the entrance, beyond our five-barred gate, was continually being driven over by vehicles entering and leaving the care home alongside. We have finally constructed a suitable deterrent. The chain is actually plastic, but it works, and these daffodils, pansies, and primroses remain unscathed.

Shady path

Here is a current view centred on The Shady Path,

Gazebo Path

and another on the Gazebo Path.

Crows

Birds, like these crows, often stand sentinel on the scrawny oak across Christchurch Road.

My replacement inks were delivered this afternoon, so I was able to complete the best part of my allocation of the flyer printing after we drove the last two bags of cuttings to the dump.

Container delivery 1Container delivery 2

At the moment the two huge containers dedicated to garden greenery are constantly being filled and emptied again. When we arrived for our third trip, the huge structure to the filling of which we had contributed this morning was being replaced by another. Watching the driver reversing his lorry into the very narrow space available, I was full of admiration for his skill.

Terra Cotta pipes

This morning’s recycling haul was six terra cotta pipes which we bagged in order to test The Head Gardener’s ingenuity. She’s bound to find some use for them.

Chairs - aluminium

This afternoon we returned with  pair of aluminium garden chairs in need of a nattier coat of blue. They went straight into the front gardener’s rest.

This evening we dined on Jackie’s super sausage casserole; mashed potato; and crisp cauliflower and broccoli. I finished the El Sotillo. Jackie abstained.