Primroses and today's walk - oh and another quilt block doing my head in!

 

I need to get these smaller pot sorted out and moved as they look a mess here and need organizing more stylistically.  On the left is the Magnolia stellata, flowering beautifully now it has minimal pruning. The gardener here before we bought the house always pruned in autumn, regardless of whether that was right for the particular shrub or not. The two Pieris are looking lovely too.

Just to give you an idea of the Primroses here, a few pictures, but they still don't do them justice.

I did a two mile walk this morning to try and clear my head, which is still not in quilting mode, and I am now going nutso over the NEW quilt project, so will get Alex to show me where I am going wrong, though it occurs to me that if you have a half quarter of 5 1/4" to be matched to two quarters of a 5 1/4" block, then sewn together with a 1/4" seam allowance taken off both small triangles, then they are going to end up smaller than the width of the half a 5 1/4" quarter?  Should they be cut from a larger piece? Or is it me?  I am close to abandoning any sewing as clearly my brain is so addled now.  Am I really SO stupid?

Below: reads 5 1/4" and 4 1/4", then 4 7/8" and 3 7/8" for the two different sized blocks.  Again, this is cutting tiny little triangles out and yet Morning's Minion advised against doing the quarter square triangles that way with the last abandoned quilt.

Anyway, this is along the old railway line, so wonderfully FLAT! 

It's beside the Wye all the way - sometimes nearer, sometimes not.

Then this afternoon, MORE expense.  L. Whale had to go to the vet with his sore paw, and as I suspected, the nail WAS split/broken and causing infection again (why didn't they spot that first time round?)  Anyway, he has antibiotics and painkillers, and we managed to break the cat carrier trying to get him reluctantly back in.  So on top of the operation he has to have next week (£91), I have to pay for today's treatment AND a new cat carrier (just ordered).  April is proving to be a hellishly expensive month.  Oh, and the new navy sheet I ordered was delivered today, and is black - and I checked and had ordered black (by mistake obviously).  So am keeping it to go on my bed and have had to order another.  Sigh.  I had to pay for the Antiques Fair too (just short of £200) . . .  I hope it will be a good one. Then it's Malvern Flea next Monday . . .  I need an outing!

I was very glad this morning when I didn't have to be up at 6 a.m. in order to drive to Tam's to babysit (have to be there before 8.45).  Rosie has had a nasty cold and is teething and it's been so hard getting her to sleep.  Yesterday I had to take her out in the car (I have the spare car seat) and get her to sleep that way.  I was very relieved when Tam got back early from work (4 p.m.)

She sent me home via Devil's Bridge on a new route, which takes you along the cycle route beside the River Wye and it was SO beautiful, as it's shallow and stony there, and there are little islands covered in Gorse in full bloom.  I wish I'd taken a photo. The road goes on through Pontrhydfendigaid, so not far from Strata Florida.  The road takes you through beautiful upland scenery too, looking across dun hillsides of moor grass, interspersed with upland grazing and conifer plantations.  The road is VERY bendy - doubling back on itself at times.  Slow and steady is the order of the day.  Devil's Bridge had opened for the season and there were still quite a few cars in the car park as I drove past.

Right, apologies for lack of brain and once again NOT being able to work the block out - made two but they are not 8 1/2" blocks and they are too bad to share.

So glad I made my meal at breakfast time (meatballs in tomato/onion/peppers/courgette sauce) and there's enough for 3 meals, so will freeze one portion.