Mrs Moog Sews

It was a beautiful day today so we decided it was a good day for some 'spring cleaning'. Because of the awful start to the year with Mum being so ill and knowing our time with her was limited, we didn't have much time down here to get the garden straight and do all those jobs you do at the start of the year. We spent many weekends away at Mums (140 miles away).

Then the weather was so bad and I was, quite honestly, pretty low during the school holidays that again we just didn't get out there. So today felt like spring had sprung and we gave the Minx's Wendy House (built by Grandpa nearly 5 years ago) a thorough clean and de-spider.

Here's the before shot:

... and several sweaty hours later here is the after:

Minx and Sausage spent the rest of the afternoon with their teddys having teaparties, complete with teapots of Peach cordial and plates of grapes and apples. I did lots of eavespdropping on their earnest conversations and they sounded like a pair of little old biddies.

Discussing what they were going to cook for dinner in their house I heard Sos say 'I think I fancy a curry tonight' and Minx said 'Ooh yes a nice Chicken Korma'. Marvellous!

And to think I was just starting to wonder whether at the ages of six and a half and very nearly eight they would have outgrown the Wendy House.

I'm so glad they haven't as it is so pretty. Mind you - if it were to go there would be handy space for a crafting 'shed' or greenhouse ;0).

What really sold this house to us was the very private and pretty garden which, for this part of the UK, is also a 'good size'. I had such plans for the garden this year and as events overtook us none of it happened. I have dabbled a bit with veggies this year but the slugs got the lot as soon as any shoots appeared. I got so desperate I spent £5 on one tomato plant that we are now harvesting! As a result I am now able to start formulating a better plan for next year, including raised veggie beds, lots of flowers from seed and getting some worms for the wormery I got off Freecycle. Heck, I'm even dreaming of chickens, tho' DH looked sceptical at this last suggestion. He does tend to humour me, bless him - up to a point and then his scientist's logic kicks in and I sulk!!!

Here's a bit more garden love:

How 'bout those chairs. We gained them some years ago second hand. White (call that mouldy grey) plastic but the old fashioned good thick plastic as opposed to this new fangled flimsy stuff ;o).

Desperate for new chairs but lacking the funds I had to do something about them this summer. Three cans of Plasticoke spray paint later and hey just look at these babies. The plastic had become so pitted and rough that I didn't even have to sand them :o)). They have stood up really well to the awful weather this summer and major fluctuations in temperature in our south-facing garden - let's see what happens over winter.

I'd have done great during the WW2 with my 'make do and mend' approach ;o)

Tomorrow, it's a major trip to the tip with all the things that were in the Wendy House before we cleared it. Our local tip is fab - they separate out anything halfway decent and sell it on, so most of the stuff that is not quite charity shop standard but far too good to landfill gets re-used.

Oddly enough tho' we always seem to come back with something we didn't know we needed - how does that happen? ;o)