The button tin.

This week has been quiet so far, no Autumn group as the heat meant to boat trip was cancelled. 

Beano is only having very short walks ear!y in the morning and late at night as it's just too hot out for him during the day.

I've been pottering around indoors. I'm doing a little crochet but the blanket is heavy and too warm to work on for long.

Eventually I decided to sort out my button tin as all the buttons were jumbled together.

The tin contains buttons that belonged to my grandmother and my mother. Some of the buttons bring back memories, other's, I haven't a clue where they came from.

There are many small mother of pearl buttons that my grandmother used when she knitted dresses and matinee jackets for me when I was a baby.

The large maroon buttons that matched a gaberdine mac that my mother wore when I was a small child. I remember her wearing the mac when we lived in Lincolnshire so I was about four or five years old.

There are a lot of the leather buttons that look like half a football, these have a metal shank and are left over from when my mother used to knit Aran cardigans to sell.

There are a few fabric covered buttons, one in particular is covered in white poly-cotton with small pink flowers on it. This was from my first wedding dress, which was a Laura Ashley copy. My mother in law, told me I should have worn mauve, as mauve was the colour for soiled goods, her son and I were living together before we married. My first mother in law was a real treasure!

I also made my second wedding dress, this was made from a Vogue pattern in red lace but had no buttons.My second mother in law was lovely, I always say she was my prize for not murdering my first one.

More posts than fence.

Chris, yes there are hedgehogs around, I want to encourage them to visit my garden regularly.

One of my fence panels is disintegrating, it's not a full panel just part of one, filling the gap between the wall of the bungalow and my garden gate. I've asked the local handyman to quote to replace it. I think it's been bashed by someone passing by. One of the nearby properties was recently emptied by a clearance company and the paths are very narrow.  Otherwise it seems strange that it should have suddenly disintegrated.

A neighbour is having her fence replaced as the existing one is falling apart, neither set of existing fence posts are being removed so there will be three sets of posts between the four panels. 

Garden find.

Whilst walking Beano this morning I came across a bundle of twigs, sort of a small branch. I brought it home with me as it's just what I needed to add to area in the garden that I'm hoping to encourage the local hedgehogs to use.  One of my neighbours has lots of twigs in heaps in his garden so I may also ask him for some.

My garden, front and back is lumpy, uneven and covered in grass and stinging nettles.

If I won the lottery (unlikely since I don't buy lottery tickets) then I'd have the entire garden dug over and flattened.

So far I've had a small section dug over and edged by a kind neighbour, I've planted a Hidcote Lavender and Dogwood called Midwinter Fire so far, I will probably add a Mallow and a Rose of Sharon.

There are some annuals that my neighbour gave me, they will fill the spaces until my plants grow bigger

I've also planted some wildflowers in two small areas that were bare of grass.

Fecking dog

I've just taken Beano out for his last widdle of the day and the little toad took off like a bat out of hell after a passing cat.

The cat cornered and ran for home, Beano attempted to follow the cat but was limited because he was on the lead. 

I was attached to the other end of the lead and Beano then tried to bend my wrist backwards round a fence post.

I'm sure some of the neighbours will have heard my language as I yelled at Beano and cursed the cat.

I have a massive bruise forming and some swelling, goddess knows what it will look like in the morning!

Oh the joys of owning a terrier.

Working in the garden.

I have a local lady who comes and cuts my grass, I wouldn't go so far as to call it a lawn. Some parts of the grass are a lot higher than others so it's not something I could manage.

I've also, with the help of a neighbour dug a small flower bed in one corner of my garden. I purchased a lavender plant and a dogwood called Midwinter fire.

The same neighbour has just given me a small tray of snapdragons and some other plants.

I'm about to put my shoes on and go and plant them in my flower bed.

Update.

I keep in touch with Steve because I'm part owner of the flat he still lives in.

When he text me to say he was having a colonoscopy I replied by just acknowledging his message. He obviously wasn't particularly happy with my reply but after the procedure sent another message to tell me the results show no cancer but another issue. 

I again acknowledged his message but remembered everyone's advice and DNE. 

He will now receive treatment for whatever the issue is. My daughter has suggested she keeps in touch with him so we will know what is going on without me getting involved.

Decisions decisions!

Well just one decision really.

Steve  messaged me y'day to tell me he is having another colonoscopy.

I know him well enough to know he will have lied to his Dr about his diet. He will have claimed that he only drinks the occasional lager, he will not admit to drinking 15 -20 cans a day.

He will also claim to eat a balanced diet that includes lots of vegetables, whereas he will be living on spicy chicken wings and eating no fruit or vegetables whatsoever.

Do I contact the surgery and tell them the truth or do I ignore it all and let him deal with the consequences?