Wakehurst

Went to Wakehurst (part of Kew) with a friend and three friends of hers.  By car, unfortunately a trip that would be impossible by public transport.  Lovely walk round the gardens and sitting on a bench by a pond in the sunshine.  Saw some thrushlike birds in a field on the way home that I think were redwings.  Planned to get some winter aconites on the way out of the gardens, two pots as a birthday present for a neighbour and one for me, but the shop was shut half an hour before the gardens (Sunday trading hours?) so wasn't able to.

Freegle frustration

I put 4 things onto Freegle I didn't think a charity shop woiuld take 3 weeks ago.  Two things easily got rid of, one a little hiccup, but the third has been offered in turn to 3 people who wanted it before it was finally collected.  It is so much easier to take items to the charity shop that are acceptable and small enough to go in the shopping trolley that I am surprised so many people on Freegle offer stuff in that category.

At least in my list of "in" and "out"* I have been able to add 4 things to the out list.

*the lists don't count food, toiletries, cleaning products and books.

Knowing I will have to write down what I buy does make me hesitate before I purchase and that occasionally means I decide I don't need something afterall!

Problem with new bike panniers

I am kayaking tomorrow in my new (to-me) kayak which is stored at my friend Beate's as she has the car.  As this is not a club session, I need to take extra stuff including a changing robe rather than the small microfibre towel as I will be changing in a carpark not a changing room.  I therefore wanted bigger panniers.  I found some that seemed slighty roomier in Decathlon last week, with an extra "pannier" that clips and upclips to the top.  Triedt o put it on tonight to find that the way of fixing it to the pannier carrier is impossible as the ribs attached the pannier carrier to the bike get in the way. Grrr! I don't know what type of pannier carrier would work with this fitting!

Bike ride and signs of Spring

When I got up it was bright with a little blue sky so I planned to go for a bike ride. By the time I had washed it had clouded over and looked like rain so I decided I wouldn't. By the time I had finished breakfast sunny again, so I went before the weather changed it's mind! Just in case it did rain, I went on one of my shorter routes - about 6 miles.  It had started to spit with rain just before I reached home, but that soon stopped, so sawed up most of the rest of the cherry branches.

Snowdrops and daffodils just showing through. Very pleased to see the clump of snowdrops I had tansferred last year "in the green" from the back garden to the front garden are is showing signs of life as the leaves had died immediately whereas the leaves of the untransplanted snowdrops hadn't.

Hellebores are also in bud. Hellebores are great, they flower for 2-3 months.

Snowdrops (single versions) are googd for pollinator insects, and hellebores are good for queen bumblebees.

Transition Leytonstone film show

Yesterday went to a Transition Leytonstone event which showed two films. 

The first was the first episode of a tv series made in Ireland called "The Powerdown Show". First part of the programme giving details of peak oil and climate change, but second half about what can be done, and the subsequent episodes would be dealing with what positively could be done.

The second film was "Climate Change? No thanks!" which interviewed tourists and farmers in an area of India where the monsoon has failed for several years. It repeated itself rather, and could have been half the length.  It also did not have the positive, forward looking aspect of reacting to climate change problems which I feel is the distinction of the Transition Town movement.

There followed a panel discussion, and I thought the representative of Organiclea (local food-growing co-operative" was very inspiring and positive. Several people I knew and lots of others I recognised from various groups I belong to/events I attend locally - which all helps me feel part of a local community.

Fallen branches for woodburning stove

On my way home yesterday from the busstop I passed some branches from an ornamental cherry street tree - one large branch and several smaller ones.  I dumped my bags at home and then went back and dragged the big branch home and put it in my tiny front garden. It was longer than the width of my front room, sticking out into the garden path by a couple of feet.  Went back and got most of the smaller  branches too.

Off today and this afternoon managed to saw up half the big branch into logs before it started to rain again. Probably a good thing as don't want to damage my back having not sawn for a while, especially as I had my monthly session with my osteopath only this morning! Did saw from alternate sides so using both left and right hands to saw, as that balance helps prevent harm to the back.

Craft Group

Last year we started a craft group at work.  It meets once a week alternately on Wednesdays and Tuesdays (as two people work with us part time).  There are 7 of us, but with holidays, committee meetings, meetings out of the office, forgetting to bring stuff, it is sometimes only 2 of us and rarely more than 3. This is a shame as it is much more fun when there is a little group of us.

I am knitting a bolero. I have a velvet bolero as my "patrtern" and am knitting rectangles and triangles to sew together.  I am using mohair wool I got from a charity shop.  It is two stranded - a green mohair and a black thread with pink and blue bits everynow and then. This is impossible to knit with and not knit twice into the same stitch by accident, so as I knit I am winding away the thread bit.  This presumably was why the wool was given to the charity shop in the first place!