Yesterday Fox turned 37. (Blimey, my youngest child is 37 years old!) He hoped for and got a low-key quiet day - made MY day when he said he'd heard from two most important people in his world (his son, and me:). I looked at the International Wall of Clocks (one for here, one for where Fox is, and one for where his sister is) at the moment he was born 37 years ago and like all mums everywhere, was instantly transported back to the moment. I do remember a surprising lot from that morning, surprising as I'd been heavily morphined up for the C-section and after the first look at my newborn son had to call for a sick pan owing to the drug.

Spring is happening - but per the old Scottish saying strongly recommending not putting away the winter kit until mid-May, I'm contenting myself with strolls around the garden planning where and when. This is the first year in many years I am eagerly awaiting the arrival of full-on Spring so I can get out there and get some serious landscaping done. Paul is the same, fidgeting to get out there and get going on projects we've been planning all winter. The sheds are in dire need of better organisation. I want to build an insulated cupboard at the back end of the veranda, Paul wants to build the hedge troughs for the two 'postage stamp' beds in the front of the cottage plus build a decorative screen for the bins.

And now Spring is beginning to happen I am seriously over the moon to discover a rather large clump of stunning hostas smack at the foot of my craft shed, naturally right at the door so opening the shed to fetch supplies out is pretty much a non-happener until I can divide and relocate that huge clump. I've always wanted to have hostas in a garden and thanks to the lovely previous owner, I am the happy inheritor of a really beautiful variety of the species. 

We knew about the daffies as those were in full glory the first time we saw this property nearly a year ago (will be a year in late April). Those are beginning to bloom now - I'm flagging the clumps so I can divide them at the proper time to fill in some of the bare spots.

Between hard and soft scaping, we're going to be busy once Spring is really here. The big push is for the hedge troughs - to gain instant height whilst keeping roots out of the drains, we're planning raised beds in a trough style then planting bare root box (probably the slow growing dwarf Korean variety) to give a little 'kerb appeal'/minor privacy, and some draught protection.

So, Fox's birthday celebrated and Spring welcomed. Win-win:)

Well. First blog post of the year. I think I meant to post something earlier. Not I've been 'too busy', more I've been too involved. Getting the house well and truly sorted is taking a bit longer than anticipated but we are getting there. I chip away every day. I've finally worked out the curtain designs, and the last of the kitchen organising should be finished at the end of next week.

I've joined the local crafting group, and an afternoon book club. The book club, oh, that was interesting - I met all the people you meet at groups like this - the nice one, the shrewd one, the one who thinks the world revolves around her, the one who thinks she owns the book group and is the most important and her family is the oldest and best and most Scottish. Turns out she and I are cousins and she was not at all happy to find out I come from the oldest and most senior rather than her sept association, quite put her nose out of joint. Oh, and I met the one who shudders at the thought of reading anything less edgy than Train Spotting. The crafting group is more congenial - just three of us now although hope floats the group will enlarge with spring. Friendlier, less competitive. Ah well, both groups meet a two minute walk from the cottage and get me out of the house once a month:)

Also getting me out of the house is the 'nip down the shops' including the butcher who I've just discovered is also the green grocer (of a sort, he doesn't stock much but what he stocks is local, and delicious). Once a month or so I go in with a large order meant to get us through the month - I lug it home (the butcher's shop is less than a three minute walk) and spend the next hour or so vacuum packing it for the freezer including making my own hamburgers with the incredibly good steak mince.

But I've also taken up a new hobby - meant to provide a bit of 'egg money', God willing. I'm afraid to write of it just yet for fear of jinxing it. And I'm still working on crochet and embroidered table linens, and Paul's needlepoint Christmas stocking.

Mostly this blog post is meant to commemorate the three anniversary of my catastrophic fall in the front hall at the old house. Life-changing injuries so I think I can be forgiven for wanting to commemorate the day. I still can't reach completely behind my back, and the thought of taking up a tennis racket again really does give me shudders - I tried to do 'wall press-ups' last week and learned that I may never be able to bear real weight on that arm again. Still, I soldier on - I have the rowing machine at the ready, and free weights beginning with 1.5lb'ers. Hope floats.