BBQ in the Rain

Last night Moo and I went to the Garden Club. There was a mad kooky lady who talked about Mae West and how her gardening was based on this big personality of a movie star. She showed us lots of slides of flower combinations and the strangest thing she did (considering she WAS a proper gardener) was to paint her allium seed heads, each year a different colour. This I couldn't understand as I believe the seed heads themselves are beautiful. No need to paint them!!! Apparently it's a new thing that Canadians are doing. Guess what? I won't be doing it.

We had a laugh and a chat with the people at the end. There were lots of nice deserts to try and we got to buy a couple of plants. We walked home with Mrs Royal and saw a couple of fireflies. Lovely.

We put the air con on last night before bed as we knew that it would be in the 30's with high humidity for the next couple of days. Moo slept in the loft but you could tell it would get warm. I had trouble getting to sleep because there was a fly that escaped from the basement and was in my bathroom. I trapped it but I worried it would land on my head. I absolutely hate flies. When I eventually got to sleep, Smallest came in crying because he had a bad nightmare (around about 1am ish). He came into bed with us and I talked to him to calm him down. Everytime he shut his eyes he could see terrible things. We cuddled and chatted and tried to think of lovely things. There was a thunder and lightning storm too. He decided to go back to his own bed in the end. At 6:30am he came in and asked if he could get up. I said yes because I wasn't really thinking but then he went and woke Small up. He wanted to come back into bed with me but Huffle said I needed my sleep so he left me alone.

This was the temperature in the Sun Room with all the doors open! PHEW!

I went off to work extra early today as I was starting my job with the original owner (the present owners Mum). I had a great time. She was a lovely lady who told me lots. We worked in the Potager Vegetable Garden. She was having a garden tour on Thursday and needed it tidying up. It was very very hot and very very humid. There were weather warnings regarding the quality of the air! I stayed until lunchtime.

A tree frog we found whilst clearing

The Potager

Would love our veg garden to look like this!

The hostas here are amazing. So big and bushy and green - not a slug or snail in sight.

When I got home, Moo and Smallest were sitting outside in the shade, Smallest eating an ice Lolly. We had some lunch and then Moo and I, with Smallest helping, cleared the guttering. I had to climb a ladder and scoop up dirty smelly leaves and throw them into Moo's bucket - I tried not to throw them on her!! Then we got the hose out and cleared and cleaned the drainpipe. We found a tennis ball on a string which was blocking the hole and another tennis ball which the boys had thrown up. Plus a few screws, nails and a Nerf bullet! We did a good job.

Moo filling the bird bath

We sat on the porch and had an ice cream. It was still really really hot and humid. Moo and Smallest played Tumbling Marbles.

We put some water in the Hot Tub and let Smallest play in it to keep him cool. Then Moo and I joined him and we payed Piggy in the Middle with a beach ball. Moo got quite wet. Small came home and joined us in the tub and Moo got out and watched whilst I made burgers.

Cooling off

Catch!

Three of us in there. Smallest sat on a ball till he fell in.

We decided to have another BBQ but we had to drag it over the grass first (we haven't got a cover for it yet!). I made Turkey Burgers for the boys and Bean Burgers for me and Moo. I put a pan of potatoes on the BBQ hob and started cooking the boys burgers. We got out the bread rolls, tomato sauce, forks,, filled the cool box with salad and got ready to eat outside. Then a black cloud came. Then I said "what if it rains". Then it thundered. Then we took the food off and put it inside and pushed the BBQ back into the barn. Then the rain came. Boy did it rain.

Moo ran out and tried to stop the water butt from overflowing. she positioned buckets next to buckets. She got very wet. I sent her out to get the boys hats, then it became a game of seeing what I could get her to fetch and seeing how wet she could get.

"and then can you just fetch..........."

Well the drain pipe certainly works now!

The boys ate in the kitchen, the rain still came down, the water butt was overflowing, the buckets were overflowing, now we are wondering if the tennis ball was to stop the flow of water coming down the downpipe! any ideas?

Huffle came home and the grown ups sat down and ate. The boys lay on Huffle's chair and watched TV.

Then they went off for their showers. Moo tidied the kitchen. I blogged and Huffle supervised the washing.

The funniest thing today has just happened. Moo saw a chipmunk on the bird feeder and went to the door with her tea towel and wafted it at him. He just looked at her. Then she ran across the garden waving her tea towel until he ran away!