What a Lovely Week - and it's only Wednesday!

I've had a few days off this week and they've been really lovely days too.  One day was spent with a friend doing some family/local history research in Essex and then yesterday I was interviewed on Radio Suffolk about The Treasure Tree.  This is a business I'm involved with where we create animated stories and interactive resources for primary aged children.  If you want to hear the interview you can listen to it here until the 31.07.12, it starts at 1:34. 

I was really nervous waiting for the interview and couldn't bring myself to listen to it until tonight - but I have to say I'm quite pleased with how it turned out :-)

As it was a really hot day we decided to have a Treasure Tree outing after the interview.  We went here, some of you might recognise it?

It's Aldeburgh, on the Suffolk coast, one of my very favourite places.

I loved this old boat on the beach, with its peeling paint and rusty metal.

How plants can grow in the shingle always amazes me, there's no soil there at all.

 The red valerian looked stunning against the summer sky.

It was a beautiful evening and after we'd sipped gin and tonics in the hotel garden overlooking the sea, we had a lovely meal at The Wentworth Hotel.

Today has been less glamorous, but still lovely, as I decided to tackle my shed which looked like this at 9am this morning:

But several bin bags later (mainly of flower pots I have to admit!) it now looks like this:

As well as being able to see the floor and reach the shredder, I now have a drawer full of every different size of nails and screws that you could ever imagine, so if you ever need one you know where to come!

Raindrops Are Still Falling

It seems as though every time I go out in the garden at the moment I get wet.  If it's not actually raining then the masses of jungle-like plant growth soaks me as I pass.  So far I've sheltered in the greenhouse, next door's shed and yesterday in next door's chicken house!

But raindrops on plants do look beautiful:

Sweetpea Cupani

Agapanthus

The agapanthus was bought new this year to replace one I lost over the winter.  It was sold as a white one, but is looking suspiciously blue!

Rosocea

But every so often the sun comes out, albeit briefly:

Clematis Blue Angel and Rosa Felicia

White Lightning Passion Flower

And when it does the plants seem to smile and sing 'look at me!'

I gather summer is supposed to arrive here in East Anglia at the weekend - I hope so!

Look What I Won!

Back in June (on my birthday actually!) I commented on a post on The Cottage Smallholder blog about a luxury hamper from Hampergifts.  This entered me into a draw to win it, which I then promptly forgot about. You can imagine how surprised I was a week later to receive a tweet from Fiona saying I'd won it!

A few days later I came home to find a delivery card saying that a parcel was waiting for me round the corner at my local post office.  As at this stage I assumed that the waiting parcel was an order of Mary Portas knickers that I was waiting for from Libertys not this very large box, so I walked round to pick it up.

After staggering home I unpacked it.

Carefully packed inside were all kinds of goodies:  jams, chocolates, nibbles, pickles, biscuits, etc etc.  And china plates, mugs and proper cutlery.

I had some help with the unpacking

But eventually they left it alone so I could get a decent photo!

Where had they gone? 

To play with the packaging of course!

Thanks Fiona for a lovely prize -I'm imagining using it in some lovely weather later on this summer!