What I did last month.......

 In the month since I last posted I've actually been spending a lot of time at home - H has been heavily involved in musical pursuits.  I get very little done when he's out so even getting time to sit and type a post is restricted. I have done the odd few hours in the garden - so frustrating when I just get gloves, tools etc out and start and I realise I have to go back in to provide a drink or lunch or tea for M.  I don't know the name of this little tangerine-coloured Geum but it's flowering beautifully in the garden and adding a good splash of colour.  I haven't extended the border planting much but I have cleared the next few feet ready to fill with new soil, despite the many periods of rain.

 

 We've had some lovely evening skies lately as the weather's been so changeable

I haven't been totally housebound (though the last two weeks I've been here without a car and at M's beck and call for 9 days out of 14 and also fitted in 3 days of babysitting - you can guess which I preferred).   We did our annual visit to the Three Counties Show taking Grand-daughter for her first visit.  She adored all the animals, especially the sheep and pigs

This one unfortunately was very keen to be introduced and gave an enormous moo that reduced Grand-daughter to tears! We all got a bit damp but not totally soaked like last year. 

Various food related purchases were made.........

On Saturday, H and I actually had a day out - music related of course, and went to a recital at The annual Gregynog Festival.  Gregynog Hall belongs to the University of Wales now, but once belonged to the amazing Davies sisters whose wonderful art collection is now housed in the National Museum of Wales.   When I worked at University College Cardiff in the 1990s I frequently organised conferences and study tours at Gregynog, but fate decreed that I never actually went there in spite of many invitations to do so.   It is much more developed these days

 and now functions as a wedding venue, offers tourist accommodation and is designated as a Nature reserve.  The festival was started, by the Davies sisters, in the 1930's and attracts many well-known performers - this year The Academy of St Martin-in-the-fields were in residence.  The house and its grounds is well worth a visit if you're ever in the Newtown / Welshpool area.  It was a two hour drive from here in indifferent weather, but we enjoyed the break, stopping en-route for lunch here . Daughter held the fort as usual.

Now it's Wimbledon and M is glued to the screen.  She vows that she will die on the last evening -  haven't you heard that before?  I say nothing ..............

Perhaps I can manage to post a few more times next month - I've got a long list of things to do by the end of July, as usual, and the sooner I get them done, the better I can enjoy the rest of the summer.  Bye for now.