outside

9 July 2013

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What a weekend, brilliant sunshine, children outside all the time, good times had with friends of all ages, charming museum discovered and then, just to polish it all off nicely, Andy Murray wins Wimbledon.  Amazing.

Perthshire is only an hour away but this weekend it felt a million miles, we stayed at the wigwams at newmillfarm near Stanley.  They facilities are pretty simple but the welcome was warm and the location just perfect with a little burn nearby where the children, all ten of them, could go and dabble with little worry of danger.  Our car was first at the wigwams, while the children were checking everything out I managed to read a bit of the book I borrowed months ago, I seem to have forgotten how rewarding reading an actual book rather than a screen can be.

spot the dog.. all this for 2 nights (no clothes in this pile)
spot the dog.. all this for 2 nights (no clothes in this pile)
wigwam ready for delivery, they are made at the farm we stayed at.
wigwam ready for delivery, they are made at the farm we stayed at.
an actual book
an actual book
simple yet functional (sort of)
simple yet functional (sort of)

We visited Active Kids nearby the next day – so sunny but pretty windy too.  It kept everybody happy for some hours with jelly bellies, a fortress, go carts, slides, trampolines, animals and crazy golf.  Barbeques were brilliant both nights, a feast for everyone – the dogs would have had a field day with all of the dropped bits and bobs had they come too.

reggie reggie vegetable kebabs
reggae reggae vegetable kebabs

Once we were all packed up ready on Sunday we headed up to Dunkeld where there is the very charming Beatrix Potter Exhibition at the Birnam Institute. It kept boys and girls aged 4-14 interested for ages, not bad going.  There’s always one who is not so impressed!

interesting to see how the kids acted when they were playing 'teacher'
interesting to see how the kids acted when they were playing ‘teacher’
little wardrobe with dressing up clothes and intructions
little wardrobe with dressing up clothes and intructions
not loving exib but still finds something to investigate
not loving exib but still finds something to investigate

That was my weekend then, hoping there will be more like that over the next few weeks of the holidays.

Thought you might like to see how beautiful Edinburgh was this evening, I will always be a city girl even though I love a bit of country life once in a while.

view from Inverleith at 9pm tonight
view from Inverleith at 9pm tonight
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Garden 23 May 2013

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rhododendron
rhododendron or azalea
finally some flowers on the Rowan planted for my Mum
finally some flowers on the Rowan planted for my Mum
blowing in the wind, lots of bells, not sure what these are
blowing in the wind, lots of bells, not sure what these are
the last few batchelor's buttons
the last few bachelor’s buttons
apple blossom
apple blossom
some type of hellebore?
some type of hellebore?
pretty pansies
pretty pansies
rhubarb - promise you'll get some this year, Saran
rhubarb – promise you’ll get some this year, Saran
the magnolia did flower despite my serious prune last year
the magnolia did flower despite my serious prune last year

Joining in with Mammasaurus How does your garden grow? part 3.

Day Forty – Windows

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Well, the day finally came when we were to have windows upstairs.

It’s not getting any warmer here so I’m hoping that they will keep a bit more heat in the house.  We have removed the magic curtain and it’s good to see the light coming down from the skylights above the stairs. Have a look and see what you make of my lovely windows.

in they come
in they come
front first thing this morning
front first thing this morning
front with windows
front with windows
looking out the back window
looking out the back window

So that’s upstairs fully sealed and ready for the plasterers tomorrow, the bathroom will be getting some much needed attention too.

Other Stuff

We had quite a quiet weekend, teenboy was not well and the weather was pretty cold. Surprisingly, apart from a few flutters, we missed out on snow.  The best part of the weekend was Sunday morning when we headed out to see what happened, despite the freezing wind. We rediscovered an old favourite of ours, the Botanic Gardens here in Edinburgh.  It was just too cold to stay long at Inverleith swing park so we decided to trot over to the Botanics.  What a great move, it was full of life and the children had a brilliant time in the classroom part of the entrance area planting marigolds and sunflowers, with the help of really enthusiastic volunteers.  I liked the ‘shelf life’ display too, just shows you that you don’t need much to grow a plant.

shelf life - as seen at the botanics
shelf life – as seen at the botanics
treasures from the botanics
treasures from the botanics

There was a fantastic stand in the plant shop with, yes, you guessed, Ranuculus plants for sale, the children chose one each, they’re planted up and looking good out there, hope they won’t perish in the cold though.

Ranuculus (again)
Ranuculus (again)

After the Botanics, everyone was keen to head on to Stockbridge Market and we had great fun trying every tablet and sweetie on offer there. We came home with a lovely lunch, comte cheese and a baguette, how continental.  Tasted good too, we have pledged to go more often and support the little guys out there.

delights from Stockbridge Market
delights from Stockbridge Market

Being inspired by the Botanics, H and I headed out to our local DIY store for some potting compost and came out with another armful of bargains from the plant dept – pansies, daisies and margarites this time. The focus on the garden continued when we got back, the greenhouse has had a pane of glass missing since last summer, we fixed that, at last.  Good job, C.  Every bargain is now planted and cheering up the garden – all we need is spring to return and help them grow.  Fingers crossed x