Monday 16th October

Deep joy! One of the cardoons is flowering!

I was a bit concerned for the bee which was not moving. Could it have been asleep? It had gone when I went back later.

Damaged, diseased, dead or duplicated. My gardener recited this list when I asked her some time ago how I should go about about tidying up plants in the garden. This list gives me a handle on how to approach the job. Duplicated applies to branches growing close together in the same direction, taking the light from each other.

I have been applying the rule with some success to my chard, potato and spinach plants. I thought I had picked off all the leaves showing signs of pest damage, but every time I wander out there I find a few that I missed. The remaining plants seem to be surviving this rather drastic treatment,  even the spinach which was looking very sorry for itself after my initial assault.

Cross Stitch Collaboration 

I'm very pleased with myself for charting the next cross stitch piece today. I had thought of this idea some time ago, and once I had photocopied the fabric ("what!?" I hear you say) it was just a matter of fitting the design to the chosen area. Here is last month's;

I photocopy the area at 140%, mark out the stitch area and start charting in pencil until I get too impatient and reach for a pen. (I've used last month's design as we like to keep them a surprise until they drop through the letterbox when we swap at the end of the month.)

Books

I'm quite happy that the bookclub book hasn't arrived yet ('Becoming Eve' by Abby Stein) as it mea ns I can continue reading 'light froth' for a while longer. I've just started 'Mrs Harris goes to Moscow' by Paul Gallico; there are four books in the Mrs Harris series. The film, 'Mrs Harris goes to Paris', which I haven't seen, was based on the first one. I read the book though, and on the strength of it bought the others.

I enjoyed 'Death in Delft' by Graham Brack, set in 17th century Delft, home to the artist, Vermeer, and the scientist, Leewenhoek, who both appear in the story. They are very much in the same genre as C J Sansom's Shardlake series (but not so many pages!)

Next up might be 'The Book of Beginnings' by Sally Page, who also wrote 'The Keeper of Stories ' which I remember enjoying some time ago. It was on offer on Kindle for 99p; less than a cup of coffee at a garden centre!