Last week we had snow, sleet, rain, mist, wind and sunshine, each day is totally unpredictable. The temperatures are fluctuating between 10 and -3, on a daily basis. People, wildlife and plants have no clue what’s going on, at all. This is not our norm.
Neither does POOR daughter. Baby girl has had a sudden growth spurt resulting in the medics insisting on her dashing back and forth to the hospital. All is well, but POOR daughter has been poked and prodded to within an inch of her life. It’s getting old fast for her, but it’s a good reminder for me to tip my cap to our NHS.
Free medical care for all is not to be sniffed at, it’s not perfect, but many people worldwide would be prepared to wait for hours, weeks, months or years for that.
Of course each trip to hospital coincided with the WORST possible weather, snow, ice and mist. We saw a hideous accident where a car had veered off the motorway in the snow, straight into trees and overturned. I do hope everyone survived.
It’s been a week of readjustment, some plans have changed, some have been adhered to. Meals with colleagues and friends went ahead, hence the feature shot of the magnificent chip butty at Mowgli’s. This is an old photo. I was with my besties and they decided to go with the vegan options, resulting in us having numerous delicious dishes to share. Totally forgot to take a photo!
Life is powering-on, despite the confusing weather.
Hellebores are everywhere in the garden. These delightful creatures always hang their humble heads…
so I pick a few to see them more closely.
It’s lovely seeing them in these earthenware jars, unfolding, each and every one is utterly adorable, especially with their heads held high.
Ohhhhh…my greenhouse…..
how it’s needs sorting, that and the entire house!
Yet, my grown from stone avocado is doing well, along with it’s sibling…
growing away in winter. Obviously they will never fruit here, but how easily they grow.
Of course the builders are here, this week, of all weeks, sorting the gutters. Thankfully, they are the good sort.
However, wherever they are around the house, I’m in a different room with the dogs.
Sometimes it’s handy to live in a rabbit warren, with so many entrances and exits, and rooms….convenient if Armageddon every strikes!
And Finally…
I did a home check for a cat and called it in on the out of hours phone. I never thought I’d ever say..
Wendy Warbler is good to adopt Wanda.
That food looks totally yummy! And yes, those hellebores do light up one’s life, bless them. Glad your daughter is OK. Hugs xx
That food was more than yummy…I could happily live eating Indian street food, so many options! Thanks Gill, enjoying your adventures!xxx
I think our NHS is wonderful, we are so fortunate. I do hope all goes well for your daughter.
Don’t you just love Hellebores, I do 🙂
Love the ones in the jars, so pretty.
Stay warm, keep safe – the weather is not good at the moment!!!
All the best Jan
The NHS is a gem, so many people are dependent on it, how would the UK look without it? A scary thought! Daughter and babe are fine, she’s just carrying a big baby. Oh…how I love hellebores, if only they would hang their heads high! Thanks Jan.xxx
The weather in the US right now is super cold and next week we’ll all be in short sleeves. Insanity! I hope your daughter is doing well. :o)
I’ve seen the US weather, terrifying! Australia too…the fluctuations worldwide are pretty scary, it’s crazy here too, how are native plants, wildlife and people supposed to cope? Daughter and babe are fine, they need monitoring as baby girl is huge! Thanks Casa, hope all is well with you. Hope you get back to blogging soon.xxx
Yes, the weather has gone erratic in the extreme. We are having record cold this week, next week should be record warmth. Love your witch hazel and hellebores.
Your weather has me shivering, how on earth do you all heat your homes??? I wouldn’t leave the house in such temps! It’s going to be warm……struth…the wildlife and plants must be soooo confused!!! Thanks Jason.xxx
I love your Witch hazel and your hellebores, it does help the winter along having something pretty to look at outside .But it looks much colder up there, horrible for driving.
I hope your daughter is well, you must be getting so excited to meet your granddaughter.
Having something pretty to look at sure helps to survive the winter! The evergreens are little gems too. Here the weather is utterly unpredictable, I have the BBC weather app on my phone and have hollered at it on a regular basis….fake weather news on a daily basis! Daughter and babe are fine, seems she’s having a big one so they are keeping an eye on her. I am very excited at the thought of meeting that little girl…..another for the sister club!!! Thanks Chloris.xxx
Hope your daughter will be well from now onwards!
Love those Hellebores in jars. Lovely little flower bouquets!
About your avocado saplings, perhaps you can grow them as decorative indoor plants?
Daughter and babe are fine, they are keeping an eye on her as the baby is big. I do love hellebores, so cheerful in the winter. The avocado seems to have settled down in the greenhouse, I’m too scared to move it indoors, it can be sulky! Thanks Jade.xxx
I was going to ask today how your daughter is doing….and so here’s the answer, and yes Thank goodness for the NHS. Having lived for 28 years in a country where there is no social medicine….I fully appreciate the fact that it is still alive and well and yes of course with problems, but hey it’s huge organisation catering to many millions of people. If you watch the show ‘Hospital’ on the BBC you really come away with a re-newed appreciation of the NHS.
Anyway, I do hope that your daughter manages to cope – of course she will and it wont be long before the baby is running around:)
Despite the weather, lovely to see colour peeking up from the earth….that’s another thing we are fortunate with the English climate…yes unpredictable, but not totally into extremes….yet!
Sending you lots of hummingbird hugs. janet xxxx
Ahhh thanks for thinking about daughter. All is well, she’s just carrying a large baby so they want to keep an eye on her, here’s to baby girl running around soon! We’d be lost for sure without the NHS…however long the wait, the treatment is second to none. Thanks Janet, love and hugs to you.xxx
The weather has been changeable here, but I’m sure much colder on your side of the Pennines and near the coast. I hope all goes well with your daughter. We’re so grateful for the NHS. Your hellebores are lovely. Every year I say I’ll get some so that we have them flowering in the garden during this time of the year and then forget about it. We planted an avocado plant outside grown from the seed. It lost its leaves and was like a stick. Left it and now it has lovely green leaves again! Hope the guttering work is going well or is finished. It”s good you have rooms in the house you can retreat to when such work is going on. Take care all of you and keep powering on. xxL
The weather seems to be chaotic everywhere, doesn’t bode well does it? Daughter and baby are fine, they are being monitored as baby girl is big. I would grab a couple of hellebores, they are so charming in the winter. We all seem to have similar experiences with avocados, they seem adept at bouncing back to life. Thankfully the gutters are sorted and peace reigns again! Thanks Linda.xxx
Best wishes to daughter. The weather sounds a bit hard, but it seems to be changing all over in subtle ways. It was very good to visit with you for a while.
Absolutely lovely to hear from you, hope you and Nechama are well. I am missing your blog! Seems daughter is having a big baby so they are keeping an eye on her. Not long to go now. You look after you. Love and hugs my friend.xxxx
Your avocado plant is amazing, coming from Africa ( originally) I would not have thought it could survived even in a greenhouse in the UK.
It is quite nerve wracking for a new Mum having a baby …. So many unknowns, and everything is harder in winter. But all worth it when she, and you have the wee baby in your arms… You’ll love being a grandparent Dina 👶❤️🌞
Seems everyone has an avocado plant that drops it’s leaves but keeps on going. Mine died off last year and just as I was about to bin it, it bounced back to life. Regular Lazarus plants they are. Oh….really looking forward to meeting baby girl, seems she’s going to be huge! I am looking forward to being a Nana….thanks Gerrie.xxx
No snow here yet thank goodness but boy is it cold when the wind starts it blow. Hope that the builders have now moved on.
The wind makes it all so much worse for sure. Let’s hope spring weather is around the corner. I am happy and relieved to report that the builders have gone, great job and good guys….but still, it’s all so intrusive!! Thanks Sue.xxx
We too have had snow, ice, wind chill and as you know, storms. They’re not much fun to go out in. Your temperatures climbed more than ours did. It is all confusing.
Glad to hear Daughter and little one are being well cared for.
Your flower arrangements are very pretty.
Wendy WaRBLER AND WANDA….now there’s a rare turn up for the books.
Xxx
Oh yes, watching your weather on the news has me wondering how you cope with it. The weather is so up and down and totally unpredictable, today was mild with a little sunshine then back to freezing! That was the strangest set of names….laws of attraction I guess!
Thanks Menhir.xxxx
We do have crazy weather here as well. Ugly, cold and frosty (some little snow yesterday evening, right when I had to bring my mom home… and I hate driving with snow on the street). Don’t tell me about plants and garden. Our is a mess. The grass is yellowish and no way to fix it without transplanting everything. We missed the water, yeah, but the weeds did suffocate the poor grass…
Our avocado (indoor) started to get brown leaves before drying out and falling. Now is horrible to look at, but since around five years I striving to save him… each year is the same story; I don’t know why it can’t just grow normally. My brother has one as well, about 2 meters high, luscious and healthy…
Grrrr I’m mad about that.
Hugs and love to all, as well to baby girl growing faster!!!! :-)c
Oh, your weather sounds hideous! Here’s to it improving soon. My avocado died while we were away last year but bounced back, they seem to be stressy plants. Baby girl is going to be a bigun! Thanks Claudine. Love and hugs to you all.xxx
*drool*. Ohhh that chip looks sooooo tasty! Is there a speedy delivery option? 😜
Tis the season for wild weather and ultra-necessary NHS doings it would seem …. Hope baby girl gets relief soon.
If only there were a speedy delivery option! Those taters are simply something else! Baby girl is certainly chubby, but then her mother was too. Thanks Anne Marie.xxx
Weathering the weather here, too, Dina! Another 11” of snow last night, and way below zero temps and winds the next three days. (Up to -60 with wind chill figured in, which makes me so very anxious for our birds and squirrels, etc.)
Good to see Buddy flashing around: how is Sam doing?
The hellebores are magnificent. Just glorious. I know how you feel about your greenhouse. It gets to this point in winter and I’d either like to move and start again with all neat spaces, or, more likely, will have to role up my sleeves and tackle the cleaning, straightening, and tossing my spirit craves! Next week. Ha!
Poor daughter and all these mad dashes to your wonderful health providers. I hope all will be calm for her till her sweet child is born! 🥰
You veggie meal sounds delicious! What fun to share such a treat with your besties! Glad you could do that.
I love your avocado plant. It’s really attractive and looks strong, too.
Good luck with new gutters and cat placements!🤣
Sam is back to normal thankfully. Oh my goodness, I simply can’t imagine how -60 feels, I have never been in temperatures like that, how on earth do you keep the house warm, it’s hard enough here! It is that time of the year when everything needs sorting….sometimes I don’t know where to start. Daughter is having a big baby so is being monitored which is great, just wish the weather would improve re the hospital runs. Thanks Kitty, loving your new foster….how they all slot in with your babies! Love and hugs to all.xxx
Good post and pictures. I agree about the weather, and like you would like it to rather more settled than it has been.
I hope that your daughter is okay now, and doesn’t have to keep being poked and prodded as she has been. xx
Thanks Flighty. Daughter is having a big baby so they are keeping a sharp eye on her….thankfully, all is well. Here’s to some better weather for all of us.xxx
I agree, there’s lots of things which could be improved with our NHS but I wouldn’t want to be without it. When I read about how people go on in other countries when they need medical assistance, well, it doesn’t bear thinking about. I’m glad they’re keeping an eye on your daughter, I wonder if this means it’s going to be a big baby. I don’t know what’s going on with the weather, it’s been so cold and blustery over the weekend but I’ve got up today and it’s beautiful sunshine. Who knows what tomorrow will bring.
I wouldn’t want to be without our NHS either, we are lucky to have it. Yes, daughter is having a big baby, she weighs 7lb 20z already at 36 weeks. It looks like the weather is picking up a little for the next week, let’s hope so anyway. Thanks Jo.xxx
I agree – that food has my tummy rumbling! I hope that your daughter soon recovers from her growth spurt. It always used to make my daughters’ legs ache but, luckily, nothing more severe. I think I may try my hand at growing an avocado; they’re such pretty plants. I can assure you that my greenhouse looks far worse; its definitely in need of a clear out. At least your builders are a game lot, I hope they manage to finish before the weather gets any worse! xx
I am utterly hooked on Indian street food at the moment….the chip butty is something else! It was daughter’s babe that had the sudden growth spurt, it looks like she is going to be huge! Growing an avocado is surprisingly easy. So glad to hear that your greenhouse is worse than mine! Thanks Veggiemummy.xxx
I’m utterly distracted by those potatoes in you first shot. I want to comment about your wild weather or marvel at the delicate beauty of your hellebores, but those taters…..!
Oh….indeedy….THOSE TATERS!!! They taste even better than they look! xxx