Fabulous Friday

Aaaaah Friday how I love you so :) You are a lovely cheery end to the week :)
The housework has been taunting me all week, as has the laundry basket, the food shopping and the ironing pile. They look at me disparagingly and despairingly, and do their best to make me Feel Bad. But not
today .... today I was going to IGNORE all of them and have myself a Lovely Day.

This morning I stayed put on the sofa with a cuppa, my newest magazines and my crochet, and before I knew it two hours had passed. Heaven. I'm still working on Jacob's blanket and it really is so relaxing - just simple stripey rhythmic rows of half-trebles....

At midday I headed out to meet a friend for lunch at our local garden centre. Winnersh Garden Centre is less than 5 minutes away, and whilst it isn't the flashiest, it's so easy to get to, has a rather quirky gift type area and a lovely cafe. An hour of chat later, and tummies full of toasties and coffee, my friend had to go, and I treated myself to an hour mooching around..... just me..... no children in tow ... it was blissful.

A selection from the gift shop.......

... I was fairly restrained purchase-wise, I bought some books for the Little People, and a poetry book for myself. Its funny, at school I hated poetry. I was (am ?) a scientist, and had whilst I enjoyed a good read, I wasn't a fan of Proper Literature. Now however, I love poetry, my tastes have matured I suppose, but more importantly Little Miss also loves poetry and she was foremost in my mind when I spotted this book.

Inside are lots of poems that I haven't thought about since my school days, William Wordsworth, Robert Louis Stevenson, Robbie Burns. John Keats, Seamus Heaney. I'm looking forward to introducing little Miss to some of these. My favourite poem is missing though - Alfred Lord Tennyson's "The Lady of Shalott" - ah well, will need to look out for another book then :)

Of course a Garden Centre is mostly about the plants .... fresh colours, lush leaves, pretty garden features....

After the gift shop restraint I'm afraid I went a bit potty for the plants. Mostly violas, geraniums and petunias for containers.....here they all are on my planting table ....

After I collected the Little People from school, Little Miss said she would help with some planting.

She planted sunflower seeds and peas .......

And painted a rather grubby pot a much jauntier shade of pink ........

Between us we did a bit of weeding, and I got some of the new plants planted up in pots .....

The geraniums look very sorry for themselves, and were consequently really cheap, hopefully I can nurse them back to health ...

Time flies when you're having fun ... all too soon it was dinner time and there were hungry mouths to feed. The rest of the plants will have to wait.

Crochet, coffee, lunch, shopping, garden-pootling. Fabulous Friday for sure :) And I'll leave you with a poem from my new book ....

Leisure

by W.H.Davies

What is this life if, full of care,

We have no time to stand and stare.

No time to stand beneath the boughs

And stare as long as sheep or cows.

No time to see, when woods we pass,

Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.

No time to see, in broad daylight,

Streams full of stars like skies at night.

No time to turn at Beauty's glance,

And watch her feet, how they can dance.

No time to wait till her mouth can

Enrich that smile her eyes began.

A poor life this if, full of care,

We have no time to stand and stare.