Courgettes with everything!

I was looking after Rosie yesterday as Tam has had to change her Tuesday childminder, who was not ideal in several ways.  She starts with the new one in September.  I set my alarm for 5.45 a.m.  Of course, today it wasn't set and I slept deeply till 3 a.m. and then my brain reckoned it was too awake to sleep.  Typical. Rosie is nearly at the stage of giving up her daytime nap.  She managed until - literally - the very moment Tam parked her car outside at 5 p.m.!

By the showground yesterday morning.

Rosie wanted me to read to her yesterday, LOTS.  The Gruffalo's Child is her favourite (Tam knows it off by heart - as she demonstrated one evening when they were here).  I also had to read the Dinky Donkey twice! Lots of others too.  It's good that she loves stories so much.

I intended to have chips for tea last night, as so late back.  Wrong move - it's Show Week, so that was off the menu and I had a tin of Ravioli instead.  Washing up - one bowl and one fork :)

It's Welsh Cob day at the Royal Welsh today, so I will watch that on tv later.  It was really busy around there yesterday even really early when I was driving through before 7 a.m.  The car sales place opposite the showground has had steel fencing put up around the premises as usual - a wise move since some top of the range ATV's (All Terrain Vehicles, posh quad bikes) were nicked from the showground.  How I don't know, as of course they have Security Guys and lock the entrances at night.  

The extra pink prints I ordered for the quilt arrived yesterday.  Alex (patchwork teacher) suggested a border, so you can guess what I will be doing today . . .  I need to get a white king size sheet to back it too.  (I'll get one from Tesco's on Saturday).  

It's been cool enough for short local walks, and a little tending in the garden too, at ends of the day.  I think we are due rain at the weekend, but hoping NOT whilst we are at the beach, in memory of Keith - though he would laugh at the irony of that!

I am close to finishing Kate Ellis' The Skeleton Room now.  I have Alison Weir's Queens in the Age of Chivalry to read, and picked up an Elizabeth Chadwick novel on the Co-op charity table, To Defy a King (that king being the pretty awful King John at that).  I wonder if they will ever find the treasure that was lost when his enterage crossed the Wash?  Bearing in mind it was quicksand, it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Updte - went back to bed, but only dozed (mainly just shut my eyes).  It will catch up with me later.  Cool here now (7 a.m.) - 12 deg. and overcast.  I need to get the bed stripped and remade and do something with the mince I defrosted in the fridge whilst I was out yesterday.  That something will involve some of the enormous organic courgettes Ed gave me :)  They feature in every meal at the moment!  He and Sam eat them raw, as part of a salad.  Not something I can get excited about. I will make a Lemon Drizzle cake for the family for Saturday too.  

Getting Cooler

As you can see, it's filling up in the fields above the showground.  There is a massive Young People's village further up the road, and we could hear their music till gone 3 a.m. this morning.  Sadly, there has been a tragedy as a young man of 25 collapsed and died.  In the next sentence, Police mentioned arresting 3 young men in drugs-related incidents.  His poor family.  

 It's only 20 deg at the moment.  I can cope with that if I don't have to do too much outside.  I went out for a walk at 11 ish, when it was a bit cooler.  Just 40 mins or so, but good to stretch my legs after all the driving yesterday (though I walked 10K steps round the Fair too).  

A trio of little pieces came home with me and the pretty green enamel pot.

A pretty little minature painted dresser.

A vintage Blue Mountain pitcher.  (Canadian ceramics company, I believe).

I couldn't resist this pretty embroidered piece - when I got back to the car and looked at it properly, it had a pair of kid gloves tucked inside.  Bonus buy . . .

I want to try and crack on and finish the last big 16 piece block of the quilt today, and sew the last seams (it's partly assembled).  Photo later I hope . . .

A Malvern Day

This is what 4.45 a.m. looks like . . .

 I'm struggling to stay awake now.  I have had a long and hot day, lots of driving (the diversion is still in place, over a year on as more works needed to shore up a 2nd roadside landslip.)  I was up at 4.40 a.m. and reached Malvern at 7.25.  Joined the queue and went straight in.  All sorts came home with me, but nothing very unusual or expensive.  It was so hot (for me, that is, 25 deg) that I only went round 1 1/2 times outside, had a wander through the Avon Hall and then walked the length of the livestock sheds across the middle, as by that time I was spending the money I'd put aside for the plumber!  

A colourful stall here.

The table above, with the deisn along the side was I think late 18th C, but it looks to have been stripped . . . It has very lumpen legs too.  Possibly a church table?  Someone was negotiating on it anyway but I wasn't close enough to hear hid price when he said "I couldn't take less than . . . . for it." 

Ochre corner cupboard.  I suppose it has "a look" about it, but no-one wants corner cupboards these days.

I always used to treat myself on this stall, but they also sell at Hay Market, so I can give myself a treat there sometime.  Too hot to plant anything right now.

This was the lady who had those lovely quilts last time.  She has a very good eye for nice things.

Still Sewing, and the Royal Welsh Show

 I laid the Heatwave quilt out on the bed yesterday to see where I was with it.  There are 3 big blocks left to construct.  I constructed 16 9-patch blocks yesterday and paired them up with their plain white counterparts.  I will carry on with it today.  If I can stay awake that is!  I woke at 3.30 a.m. and couldn't settle back to sleep so after an hour I came downstairs.  Tomorrow is a Malvern day so I had better get myself off to bed early tonight, though I don't want to wake at 3.30.  4.30 will be just right.  By the time I have had a quick breakfast and done the litter trays, done my hair and makeup, an hour is soon gone.  I do my rolls to take, the night before.  Plus cool drinks.  Talking of which, I am delighted with the cold water dispenser in my new fridge freezer.  A real boon in this hot weather.

It's the Royal Welsh Show next week, so I took a stroll past the showground.  As you can see it's all set up and pretty well ready to go - they began putting marquees up about 10 days ago. Lots of caravans up on the slopes above the showground and I imagine the Young Farmer's "village" (small town more like) half a mile up the Newbridge-on-Wye road is pretty packed already too. The big field opposite the showground will house 100s of caravans too, for all the people involved in the show - whether with livestock, or selling.  It's about £40 a head to get in now, so I just watch it on tv.

Lots of good podcasts listened to yesterday on Rest is History.  King Arthur, Merlin, Alfred the Great.  I can recommend this podcast.

All sorts of big shiny temptations for well-heeled farmers.  I don't know if they ever sell any in these parts.

Some of the shops in town will shut for the week and board up their premises.  With the population of our small town going up from 2,500 to 250,000 during the week, not all visitors are well-behaved.  The pubs, as you may imagine, do a roaring trade.  I try not to go near town for the week.  If I wanted anything from the main street, parking would be impossible. 

El Nino seems to be causing havoc with the weather this year - terrific storms in France, and the heat too.  One of the doom and gloom weather pictures had clearly run out of colours for how hot it would be and after black, has had to use white to show increased heat . . .  I wonder what the winter will have in store for us?

Nearly forgot . . . GravelandGrace

 The dental check went fine yesterday, and nothing to pay.  They said X-rays on back molars due, but we put them back a year as I was skint!

I was checking out the posts I follow on Instagram, and occasionally it chucks up an old contestent from Britain's Got Talent or America's Got Talent.  The latter threw up the most amazing singer, with a gravelly voice, and it was a chap called Arthur Hayes.  Imagine in his 70s, beard, playing a battered old guitar, and just THE most amazing voice, singing I suppose you might call it Gospel Music - anyway, it had a Christian motif.  After I had "liked" that one, I kept getting lots more clips from Graveland.Grace.  Audiences in tears listening to his heartfelt emotional singing.  Imagine my shock when I discovered he was invented by AI.  Blimey!!  Has anyone else come across him?  This has made me think, how easily we could be bamboozled by news/reports made by Politicians or those in power - we could, indeed, be controlled this way . . .

Then on to see my friend Pam, and finally my patchwork group.  I sewed the 16 patch blocks to make up 32 patch blocks and will sew those all up into the quilt top today.  Just have one last big block to finish and then I can drop in next week to say hello and give Alex the quilt to longarm quilt for me.  I have just ordered the wadding for it from Doughty's (cheaper to have it posted to me than to drive there - and less temptation once I arrived, that's for sure!) 3m deal of super-soft cotton.  I didn't realize that there was some shrinkage on it and you have to wash by hand and dry naturally before using.  The sunshine will help that dry anyway.  

Ed came round last night, as Sam still working away.  We watched the football, but dismayed at the defensive tactics in the 2nd half, which definitely worked against them.  Crazy!  They were NOT in control of the ball and there was no chance of our getting a goal when everyone staked out at the Argentinian end of the pitch. I suspect England will be looking for a new manager now.  Above photo is my "payment" for watering round Ed's polytunnel whilst he was away.    Homegrown organic veg . . . yum :)

I have another really itchy bite - went out to empty compost caddy and some small black shiny beasty hit on me straight away and zapped me.  Like a horse-fly bite but lord knows what the insect was - like a tiny tiny black beetle.  It is really itching still, despite my anti histamine, and After Bite application.

I shall try and finish the quilt top today and then I am going to get back to the little frock for Rosie I started cutting out months ago.  I need to teach myself dress-making pronto!  If I get stuck I will take it along to my quilting group as several very experienced dressmakers there.

Right, off to reclaim my frozen stash from Ed and Pam and get a walk in.  Now reading The Skeleton Room by Kate Ellis. Listening to We Three Ravens podcasts in the car.  If you like Folklore, then this is for you.

It's Malvern Flea on Sunday.  I am hoping that the chap who has a stall selling Bri-wax and other polishes and "stuff" may have the Gorilla Glue Polyurethane I need, otherwise I will have to cough up £20 for it . . . 

Did I mention that I have decided to draw a line under the spinners and weavers group.  I just felt they were far, FAR too passionate about it for me, as I am just interested and would like to improve my skills.  I think I will go on a couple of little courses on the elements I would like to learn, instead.  Sorry, but if you jump on me for just putting my spinning wheel down as I arrived - "that's the wrong way round" - then your group is not for me.  I wasn't even using it, but had just plonked it down quickly on arriving, then going back for the rest of my belongings.  I was using the drop spindle at the time . . .

Fridge innards, for Lizzy D

 

Cleverly done.  Plenty of storage.  Pull down storage for wine bottles too, under the top shelf.

A half-empty room . . .

 

It's arrived.  The lads were very helpful, and took the old one away.  Best £15 I'd ever spent (though the fridge-freezer cost a lot more!)  I had to leave it two hours before plugging in and I have now got the frozen stuff I kept here put away again.  Ed and Pam have a drawer each of my contents, so I will sort that out on Thursday. This has a 2 year guarantee, and then a further 8 on parts.

Now, there's posh!  I am actually impressed with it, as it is a lot better designed internally so I have as much room as the old fridge in some ways, only better configured.  The 3 drawer freezer is better too, as I can have meat, veg and fruit in separate drawers.  It even has a water cooler, which will be welcome in this weather.

Now I am absolutely bushed, having taken all the stock and stuff out of the Utility, and have just been putting it all back again, much more neatly.  I don't have the energy to water round in the yard right now, and don't even have the energy to go upstairs for a shower.  I will just sit and start another book.  

Tomorrow is going to be hectic as I have the dentist in Llandovery, have to go to Carmarthen to get my camera looked at as it still won't turn on, and pop up to see other Pam, and then with any luck, an hour or so at my quilt group.  "Heatwave" quilt is coming on really well and I think I just have another 2 big blocks to do (16 blocks in the big one).  Then in the evening Sam is coming round to watch the football here.  I'm quite looking forward to that.

Anyway, I am glad that is done and dusted and I don't have to try and get rid of the old fridge-freezer.  Btw, that had been a top of the range one when we bought it, and if I had wanted to replace like with like, I would have had to cough up £2,000!!!  This was a darn sight cheaper :)  It's a Haier.