Of Frogs, Fun and Flowers..

The big excitement here is that I have had a visit from Mrs Frog, and my little pond is full of frogspawn! Perhaps it doesn't sound so exciting to you, but I'm thrilled. On Saturday when we were all going out for Mother's Day lunch, the Boyfriend's daughter said she had seen a frog in my pond, so we all had a look, but couldn't spot it again. She was obviously right, though, because there was the frogspawn this morning, looking like a large jelly with black spots. Not very inviting, and definitely not edible - unless you're a hungry fish. Luckily I have only one small fish left in the pond, so hopefully we will have lots of tadpoles who survive to become little frogs.

Today was freezing cold again, so Brighton BF and I set off for a lovely cosy day at Ikea. I am in desperate need of a chest of drawers in my bedroom, since I gave mine to Daughter when she moved. Consequently, all my clothes are in piles on the carpet, and because most of them are black, I have to go through everything every day to find what I want to wear. I also gave her the bookcase from my bedroom, so I have piles of books on the floor too. Combine this with the fact that Son's bed and mattress are propped against my bedroom wall until he can move into his flat, and you get a picture of complete chaos, which is not the most restful scenario for a bedroom. So the trip to Ikea was not so much an indulgence as a necessity. We managed to find lots of other things to buy too - but the main thing was getting the chest of drawers (flat-packed) into the car. Now all I have to do is get someone to help me to put it together. Anyway, the rest of the day was enjoyable, beginning with their lovely coffee and pastries (what diet?) and ending with a reviving cup of tea before setting off home. I didn't buy the bookcase (one thing at a time), so will probably have to go back again soon. Oh dear.. They did have some lovely standard lavender bushes, which were very tempting, but by then I was all spent out.

The other thing I keep forgetting to mention is that I have a gorgeous Japonica which is bursting into bloom in my garden. It is covered with tightly-curled coral buds which open into bright little bunches on bare stems - very uplifting - and almost everyone who walks past comments on it. It grows along the wall, like a hedge, and is quite a star. I have another smaller, white-flowered Japonica, called Jet Trail, which was given to me by my ex-Arundel (now in France) Best Friend about three years ago. This little darling starts to flower in January and just keeps on bursting more little buds every day. It's very pretty, and I have sat it in a large pot by the front door, so that I see it every time I go in or out.

Son appears to be having a great time skiing in Colorado - his photo on Facebook shows a perfect winter wonderland scene. His comment? "double black. first day. Yee-ha!"