Yesterday .....

Was it really yesterday when I was up early and out of the house very early for me.  OH dropped me into town and I tried to pop into Lakeland but the doors were closed and I did not have time to wait and so I nipped up to the plant store in Cathedral Square where they had a beautiful display of plants.  To my surprise they had French Lavender and being as I had seen some in Wilkinsons earlier in the week at £6 a pot I asked how much and was told £1.50 per pot so I snaffled six.  I have also bought and paid for two fig trees which I am to collect on Tuesday lunch time all being well.  There were lots of other goodies as well and really my timing was off as I was on the way to see my mum so I could not manage much more.  To say I am chuffed  with my acquisitions is an understatement as I love fresh figs and I adore lavender.  Now to locate several English Lavender plants cheaply as I want a Lavender Hedge under my washing line. Well that's the plan and at least if any laundry falls off the line it will be well and truly scented.

I caught the bus in good time and again wandering through peaceful English country villages interspaced with huge fields of corn and oats - all the fields looking golden brown and in fact I initially thought on my outward bound journey that they were going to start harvesting in an effort to bring in the crops before the rain that was forecast for later in the day.  The combine was there and the fields looked ready to bring in, but I suppose it is down to the moisture content of the grain at the end of the day.  More on this later.

The bus dropped me off and I went to the antique and crafts centre and had a quick mill around.  I could stay for hours in places like this and each week I go I find something new.  I admired the painted furniture again and indeed was pleased to see that a table I have been debating to paint cream which I have home had an exact twin that had already been renovated and it looked fabulous, so I think that may well be a project for future weeks.  It is a lovely shaped little table and would look lovely with one of my Victorian pitcher and bowls sets perched on top.  I have solid honey pine wardrobes and pine chest of drawers in my bedroom together with a hand painted freestanding jewellery chest which is cream background with purple flowers on it and a cream metal bedstead.  Anyway I digress slightly.

I left my lavender plants at the door to the centre as I did not want to cause any damage to the contents of the shop and several ladies came up during the course of me wandering around asking me where I had got the plants from.  There were lots of antique pine pieces that I would love including a couple of pie cupboards and some shaped pine wardrobes which were reasonably priced in the greater scheme of things.  But no space at the moment, so they are reserved for the back burner until the issue of space can be resolved.  There was also an antique bench painted green which would be ideal as a freestanding piece in a kitchen.  

There also craft stands within the store and I purchased some turquoise beads with silver spacers to make myself a necklace and from the antique section a pair of butter pats which are in very good condition to pop up with the rest of my dairy equipment and which were only a couple of pounds.  I would quite like to find a butter churn in due course.  Will have to keep my eyes peeled.

I then walked on to my mum's heavily laden and had a lovely day with her.  As a treat I had taken her a dressed crab as I know she is partial to the same and I thought it would help pep up he appetite a bit.

I had a lovely day with my mum, but it is time I am treasuring as although I am working and cleaning she never stops chatting from when I arrive to when I leave.  Mum is also relaying stories of events that happened or houses she has lived in over the years and some of the stories I have heard and some are quite new.

I finished the kitchen for her yesterday, ran the hoover through the house,watered the plants up in the garden and repotted some plants on too and filled her watering cans up for the greenhouse so that she does not have to lift them and cant water her tomato plants.  Mum has also sorted me out two fuschia cuttings, a clematis, some trailing petunias and I also have some cuttings of a trailing plant she has in the house to pot up.  It was a very enjoyable day all round.  Next week I will be going to her on Sunday instead of Saturday as there is an Angel Workshop that I am going to so I have just swapped the days that I am going.

On the way home we came back the way that the bus had taken me earlier and passed the corn fields that I thought were going to be harvested on the way in.  A  test strip had been cut but because there was rain forecast for last night I think they chose not to continue as they would not have got the field cleared in time.
 
We were later home so we ended up having a Chinese Take away for a change.  

Another lovely day all round.

Catch you later

Pattypan

xx