A Fine Spring Weekend

What a beautiful weekend we were treated to as far as the weather went!  On Saturday morning when I stepped outside the grass was carpeted with a snow of fallen blossom and the air was humming with the sound of the bees working in the blossom.

 

I think some of the bees must have become a bit intoxicated because I noticed one which was very drowsy, crawling around on the bricks edging one of the garden beds.  There were some weeds to be pulled and some gladioli bulbs to be planted, plus one lonely late lily bulb.  I used to despise gladioli but after having some success with a very unusual mauve and green one last year (which one visitor saw in a vase and insisted must be an artificial flower because of its unlikely colours), I have overcome my prejudice and decided to try a few other colours including a lime green and a couple of different pinks.  It doesn’t do to be too choosy in the garden, as I am rapidly discovering.  Any plant is a good plant really, unless you have something better to replace it with.  The kittens made the most of the chance to get outside too and spent some time climbing to the tops of trees and then finding out the hard way that sometimes it is more difficult to come down than to go up. 

 This is Madame La Poste's favourite tulip shade and I am hoping some of the buds will unfurl to reveal more of the same because it is my favourite too.

 Many of the tulips are this rather more lurid shade though

 The violas are still going strong

 I wish I had bought more of this very unusual lachenalia bulb - but there is always next season

 The clivias I planted last year are having their first blooms

We had a visit from Madam La Poste who had to endure a tour of the garden while I pointed out to her each and every emerging lily and I suspect she may have put a heroic effort into not yawning while I was blathering on about my plans for the garden.  Lord and Lady Raglan graced us with a call on Sunday.  Lord Raglan told Mr Shoestring that he was having to beat down the grass in his front lawn because it was nearly growing through the windows (the competition over lawns continues unabated), to which Mr Shoestring replied that he had just been outside chasing golfers off the front lawn, as they were practising their putting there on the emerald green sward.  After being so rude to Lady Raglan a few weekends ago when we fought over the same vintage hat I felt remorseful and tried to give Lady Raglan the hat which had caused all the trouble, but she assured me she had had a lucky escape from that hat, realising afterwards that she already had a lovely blue chapeau and did not need another.  What a true aristocrat, how her noble nature shines through! 

 

Last weekend I cut out a summer dress and commenced stitching.  I was so pleased with the finished product that I cut out another and finished that too.  The first one has world maps and the second has passport stamps.  There is one more waiting to be made, and I think that will be my favourite – it has all over postage stamps and I have saved that for last. 

 

The fabrics for these dresses came from a large emporium which I visit from time to time, and every time I come out of the place I vow and declare I will never return.  The service is slow, the staff seem to have no knowledge whatsoever of the products they are selling and sometimes even if you are armed with one of their pamphlets and point out what you are attempting to purchase they will confidently assert that they do not and never have stocked any such product.  If you go in looking for a particular item you are more than likely to be disappointed and the stock is in such disorder that you sometimes suspect that the desired article is in there somewhere, if only you could locate it.  But my desire for a bargain always gets the better of me and I give in and go for “just one more” trip there.  Sometimes there are great bargains to be had and it is best to treat the whole outing as a mystery tour which may or may not turn up the thing you set out to purchase but on the other hand you are likely to come home with a completely unrelated item and be very pleased with yourself for unearthing such a bargain.  

 

This is my second to last landscape "find" - Habitat for Humanity - and it reminds me of many of the tumbledown cottages and farm buildings we see on our way to Shoestring.  I like the way you look through the dark shade to the light sky - I think this is called chiaroscuro.

 This was the latest acquisition - from our road trip - $3.  It looks a bit choccy box here but the colours are very subtle in "real life". 

 

On the road trip I found a cache of sad hankies, all beautifully embroidered or embellished with the most beautiful lace.  They were rather stained and rusty and I was doubtful as to whether the marks would come out but at 20 cents each it wasn't a major expenditure.  They washed up beautifully and I think I will stitch them onto a voile background fabric and make a pretty sheer curtain for the bathroom. 

I hope your weekend was as peaceful and fulfilling as mine was, roll on Friday!