Belated Happy New Year

Hi all. Safely back home after spending a fabulous week and a bit darn sarf with family and friends. We were due back up here for Hogmany but when we read the weather reports, we thought stuff that, don't fancy driving in 80mph winds, so we stayed.

Darling daughter has just moved to a lovely bungalow with a superb garden that needs some tlc, so we're going back down in March armed with secateurs, shears and I hope to have found her a cheap compost bin by then. I think her other half is more interested than she is though, but we can always try !

Got home to find roof slates all over the deck, one g/h took a major hit and needed some rebuilding yesterday, and the toughened glass one had lost a few panes, which thankfully were still intact.

Still can't get into the swing of things though and have taken the rest of the week off to get my head and the house back together.

Got loads of brilliant stuff for Christmas: Joy Larcom's Grow Your Own Vegetables, Botanica, subscriptions to Gardeners World and Kitchen Garden, new planting diary for 2007, funky purple gardening gloves, vouchers for my g/h vent and louvres and vouchers for compost. It pays to make a list !!

Also brought back with me four volumes of a complete gardening partwork magazine set that mum had found in the garage and a tray of rosemary cuttings and some other cuttings from Mamalion's back garden. Have also brought back lupin, poppy, garlic, and Spanish Palm (should be interesting) seeds.

Despite our dozy mate heating the wrong g/h, everything apart from one or two calendula seedlings have survived the cold and being bashed about by the wind. Will have a closer inspection out there today. Garlic is still doing well, onions don't look that healthy but am giving them positive vibes ! Numex twilight is still going great guns - how very odd ! Loads of spring bulbs popping their wee heads through.

Today I've got some odd jobs to do around here, and then tomorrow am going to spring clean the shed (again) !! I don't know how it got so messy. Those wee shed elves up to their usual tricks I think ! I found a good article on how to make a shelf that can be pulleyed up into the shed rafters, so I think I might get the OH working on that one. It would be so nice to have some shelf space to put all my gear.

Hope everyone had a good festive season, can't say I'm too thrilled to be back up north, especially in this weather, but once I'm back in the swing of things, no doubt I'll be fine !