Ridgeway Cottage anyhow

It was a sad day when my deckchair broke and not for the first time, however this time the fabric really was too old to repair and needed replacing. I loved the brown and orange stripe but fortunately Charlie spotted some turquoise and orange stripe deckchair canvas in our local fabric shop, so it was the perfect time for a make over. The hardest part was removing the old fabric, which it turned out wasn't the original and during the process I stabbed a great hole in my hand with the screwdriver. It wouldn't stop bleeding and with a plaster on the job was much trickier. So today, despite the forecast of thunderstorms, I got my deckchair out to enjoy the sunshine. I didn't actually sit in but did intend to, I just had too many plants that needed to be pricked out and potted on. I crocheted a cushion to match the new fabric and although I didn't quite have the right shade of orange, the salmon pink is a close enough match. I hope that the sunny days continue so tha...

On Friday it was my 11th wedding anniversary which is I think an achievement in itself. Little did my husband and I know the high and lows that life had in store for us 11 years ago, but things have definitely turned out wonderfully. I choose well when I picked my husband and he has stood by me, cared for me, provided for me and been the best possible father to our children. Marriage is not always easy and some people do give up on each other. Life has been so hard for me over the past couple of years that I do not know what I would have done without my husband. This is the cushion that I made for my husband. The letter 'm' took me three days to cross stitch, however that is a just a drop in the ocean compared to what he has done for me. I love him more each day and the life he has made for our family is perfect.

All through the winter, I dream of days like today. The washing is drying on the line, the back door is wide open, I've been to the allotment and best of all, I am in the wonderful position of not having enough jam jars. They are already filled with such delights as rhubarb chutney and my favourite mix of sweet peas and nigella. If I had more jam jars, there would be enough sweet peas to have some in every room of the house. I do like it when it rains and I don't get a chance to go to the allotment for a couple of days, because when I do eventually return, the whole place has changed. Today there were sweet peas and feverfew flowers everywhere and too many raspberries to pick. If I do manage to get my hands on some jam jars, it's practically the jam season. So as the last of the elderflowers fade and the champagne ferments in the shed, the raspberry canes are smothered in little crimson gems. I also had to do one of the saddest of allotment jobs today, thinning carrot...

As the last two weeks have been difficult ones, I have been trying my best to take it easy, not worry too much about things and do my best to get through each day. I've just been picking up small projects, ones that don't take too much effort although I have made two dresses and a shawl for my mother-in-law to wear to a wedding. When I put it like that, actually type it in words, I have been quite busy, but today I have been working on something for my husband for our wedding anniversary. It was inspired by a picture I recently saw and a website Urban cross-stitch. How fabulous for cross stitch to have gone urban!! This is how far I've got with the cross stitch. It doesn't look much, but cross stitch takes forever and I'm not really brilliant at sitting still for huge amounts of time, so I made a cherry cake and potted up all my tomato and celeriac plants as well.

I once stumbled upon a competition for garden sheds, but have no idea where, however I think that I finally have a shed worthy of entrance into a competition. It might have even been a book about garden sheds. Although we do have quite a tiny house with a really rather small garden, we do have out buildings, consisting of a rusty corrugated iron garage, a ramshackle potting shed which doubles as my brewery for elderflower and rhubarb champagne and the toy shed. All three are full of interesting and exciting things, are used frequently and loved by all of us.