Promises, promises..

I know, as I was reminded by the lovely Lulu at Family Affairs, I'm hopeless at getting back to you all on time. It's an Aquarian characteristic, you know, to be always running late, so I have some sort of excuse, if only a pathetic astrological one!

Anyway, here I am to explain what else has been happening to delay my Blogging. Actually, I seem to be turning into a sort of One-Woman Cottage Industry - a couple of weeks ago I haplessly volunteered to make a Macaroni Cheese for KT at the Delicatessen where she works in Hove. I was in there one day when they were complaining about the quality, or lack of it, in the macaroni cheese they were currently selling. "I can do that." I piped up, and was promptly asked to prove it! So I did, and I have been making them ever since. I'm even up on the board as "Margot's Macaroni Cheese - New Recipe", which pleases me terrifically. I started making one a week, and now it's two, as it seems to be pretty popular. What Larks!

A couple of weeks ago I also volunteered myself to garden for my lovely Therapist, as she has such a busy life and just can't do the garden as well as manage three children, a busy husband and her therapy career. We were walking round her garden, after my last session, and she was telling me what she would like to do, but couldn't get around to. So, as you do, I found myself saying "Would you like me to do some gardening for you?" The answer was yes, so I've been planning, designing, buying plants and gardening at her house since then. Last week I tackled the Courtyard Garden, which was a mess, and transformed it with a gorgeous planting scheme of white, silver, blue, purple and lavender. I used trailing lobelias in blue and white, some tall lavenders with silvery leaves set around with white stones, and osteospermums (white with purple eyes) plus more white and blue lobelia and the odd bit of ivy, all in lovely old grey stone planters. I had this all planned and the plants bought and ready, when the news came that poor C. (my Therapist) had fallen and broken her shoulder at the airport on her way home from holiday. Thinking that it would cheer her up, I carried on regardless, with the help of her children who cleaned pots, washed the terrace very enthusiastically, and generally enjoyed themselves learning about gardening. It was a boiling hot day (last Thursday) and I worked from 10.30am to 4.30pm, but by golly it was worth it. I could hardly move afterwards, but the courtyard looked just lovely when we had finished, and I was delighted that C. now has somewhere pretty and restful to sit on warm days - she certainly won't be able to do anything more physical for a couple of months! And the gardening continues; today I have been out choosing and buying more plants for the rest of the garden (we have to do it in stages, because they have 5 acres!), and tomorrow I'm off to implement the design and do the planting - it's such a delight seeing the schemes come to life. I was just sitting down to do a plan for the next border, when I had to break off and make an extra Macaroni Cheese this evening, because they phoned to say they had run out at the Deli and needed one for tomorrow!

Oh, and yesterday I took Hon Grandaughter to visit Aristocratic BF who had her two grandaughters staying. We were hoping to swim at a neighbour's pool, but sadly the weather didn't like that plan. We ate lunch in a thunderstorm (indoors, luckily) and then took the neighbour's dog for a very wet and drippy walk by the lake at Sissinghurst Castle. It continued to pour, on and off, so the girls played indoors (very happily) and ABF and I sat and nattered over a cup of tea. When we drove back, after supper, it was torrential rain, so much so that even double wipers couldn't cope with it, and we had to sit and wait for a let-up so that Hon. G. could get out of the car. Oh, the joys of an English Summer.

This evening I had intended to do my nails (what nails?), and a bit of long-0verdue shredding of old paperwork. Instead, I've been sitting here chatting away with you for the last hour. And now there's a film I want to watch, Sunday's Times to read (is it really Wednesday already?), and stuff to get ready for tomorrow. That border design will have to wait, and I'll drop off the Macaroni Cheese on my way out in the morning, after I've loaded all the plants and tools into the car. Busy, busy...