Rather chuffed with myself ....and utterly amazed!

YAY! .........I Did It!!!!!!

Yes I did! One whole year without buying a single item of clothing......!
Wow! Where did the time go? 

After being asked by quite a few people out and about whether I achieved my goal of no clothes buying, I thought I better check in with you guys and give you the good news...... which is.....It can be done!


I've had some fantastic feedback on some of my posts ...people making their own drinks, having a go at customising their existing wardrobe and even a Schoolteacher who showed her class my blog about saving Britain's bees! I'm really pleased that I was able to share some of my ideas. I would have liked to have blogged more frequently during the year but I was so busy with all the projects I had on the go ... I never had the time!


But I promise, I'm back now, I still haven't been to the shops and I've completely cured myself of my shopping addiction! The voices in my head have completely disappeared!

Don't listen to the voices!

So, what on earth have I been up to????? Quite a lot as it happens..... It seems not shopping has given me the impetus I needed to get out there and get creative!

MASTERS OF SOUL! A NEW SOUL NIGHT IN LONDON

Thanks Hubby for the flyer! (original artwork Kirsty K Latham) 

I've started up my own monthly Soul night with a couple of friends down in Islington called Masters Of Soul where I get to DJ every month, It's turned into an absolutely brilliant night and I've really enjoyed promoting and organising guest Dj's from all over the country and Europe to come along and spin their tunes for us.

Here's the link to this month's event page on Facebook if you'd like to come along!

https://www.facebook.com/events/242218259243656/?fref=ts

And I'll put the link to our Facebook group up at the sidebar for future dates and details if you fancy joining us for a good old dance!

People getting down at MOS!

 I've also set up a MissyMurphy Mixcloud page where I can share some of my Soul mixes and also mixes from the night, I've got nearly 300 followers already!

Here's the link to my Mixcloud page

http://www.mixcloud.com/MissyMurphy/

So what else have I been doing?????

I love my allotment!

I've also had and AMAZING year on the allotment, My lovely Hubby bought me a poly tunnel for Xmas last year (instead of the usual handbag!) and I've been growing all sorts of exotic fruit and vegetables. And as I've not been spending so many Saturdays grumpily trawling around the shops, I've been spending them in the tranquil surroundings of the plot with the birds and the bees and the little toad community we have. Building structures for grapevines and customising old pallets and boxes has been so much fun and again, extremely creative!

This was an old tool crate ...
Now it's full of lovely carrots!

Thank you Hubby ...I love my Polytunnel!

I'll be going into more detail about some of the allotment projects in future blogs but I've enjoyed my year so much and had some simply stunning veggies in such abundance I think I need to show them off!

A basket of goodness!

Some of the 'Hollywood Veg' I've been able to grow
 since getting my lovely Poly tunnel.

Anything else I've been up to while avoiding the shops I hear you ask???

As it happens ...yes!

One of the reasons I started this quest in the first place was because I just knew I had FAR TOO MANY CLOTHES .... I mean who needs 100 dresses???? It just felt greedy to be honest ....and I felt slightly ashamed  as I hardly wore some of them and had NEVER worn quite a few of them! 

I really wanted to put a stop to my hoarding and stop being so indulgent and wasteful. In these days of cutbacks and recession, when there are people struggling even to put food on the table, is it really acceptable to be so self centred?

I've seen the future ...and it 'aint pretty!

As I found myself becoming less obsessed with buying new clothes and started to re look at old ones, I had the chance to completely re evaluate my wardrobe. In short, I started to look at my clothes in a totally different light.  I seemed to have lifted the spell of attachment to them finally so I divided them into categories.

Category 1:  Stuff that was just utter rubbish to be honest (damaged/worn out etc) 

This stuff went in the bin.

Category 2: Stuff that I know I am NEVER going to wear again and was quite cheap and basic (lower end high st) but still in good condition

This stuff went to the Charity shops.

Category 3: Stuff that still fits me but I'm a bit bored of.

This stuff went into the 'Make Do And Mend" box ... to be altered, customised or 'upcycled' for future wear.

Last but not Least

Category 4:  Stuff that I have never worn or I know I will never wear again but is high quality vintage or designer.

This stuff I have been selling in my new Etsy shop!!

Yes, I set up a shop online to sell some of my better quality unwanted stuff. At the moment there's nothing in it as all the clothes I did put on sold straight away! Some of my beautiful old Mod/ Vintage and 60's dresses which  I've bought over the years are now on the backs of some cute Mod girls somewhere! 

Somewhere they'll be worn and loved and I would imagine, much more appreciated than they are languishing in my bulging wardrobe.

So, not only did I not SPEND any money on clothes, I've actually MADE money on some of the clothes I was desperately and as it turns out unnecessarily clinging on to. And do you know what? I don't miss them one bit! I'm delighted that they are going to be loved and worn by someone else. 

I'm going to be uploading lots more stuff on my Etsy shop and I'm also going to be making some handmade clothes and accessories to put on there. By not buying clothes, I've given myself the start of a little enterprise! 

Missy Murphy Handmade & Vintage!

Here's the link to the store, like I said, everything sold out so I'm going to be spending this weekend frantically photographing, measuring and sprucing up all those clothes that made it into Category 4.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/Missymurphy

I'm not saying I'm completely cured ...a couple of things have been squirrelled out of the 'to sell' pile and have made their way back into the 'hope to fit in' part of the wardrobe but it's been a complete revelation. As a reward, my lovely Hubby is making me a bespoke dress for my Birthday and is going to help me with making some stock to put in my shop. So all in all a resounding success!


I'll be back soon with some of the customised things I did last year and with news on all the other projects ... this whole experience has opened the door to my creative side and I feel brimming with ideas ....AND most surprisingly of all ....I'm not even  THAT desperate to go to the shops!

Bye for now!
A very chuffed Leona XX

East Side Elderflower Cordial!

 Hi Folks!

I hope you're all well and enjoying the Sunshine ...what a difference a month makes!

You'll be pleased to know I'm keeping up the good work and haven't bought a thing to wear so far this year ....coming up to my 6th Month! I even visited the West End the other day and went into John Lewis to buy some skincare products. As I looked up from the ground floor to the first floor, I could see all the best dresses cleverly displayed at the edges to tempt you up there. I gotta say it was rather liberating to just  go in a department store and come out only with what I actually went in there for!

I promise there'll be more clothing related posts soon, I've got several projects on the go at the moment ...all of which are not quite finished ( I'm a devil for doing that).

This is a local drink for local people

In the meantime I thought I'd share this absolutely scrumptious recipe with you. It's the time of year when all the Elderflower trees are in blossom and I've got a few trees down at the back of my allotment. It's a really recognisable tree and as soon as you smell the beautiful frothy white flowers ...you know it's an Elderflower. The scent is intoxicating and June is the month when these gorgeous trees come into full bloom. It also grows on the ground by the side of streams and brooks ...it's literally everywhere!

So easy to recognise and the smell ...wow!

The only thing to remember is,  try not to  pick all the flowers from one tree, if you leave some flowers on the tree, then later on those flower sprays will become Elderberries and these can be made into a stunning Elderberry Wine. And I'll be having a go at that most definitely!

Elderflower tree

Ground Elder ....it's everywhere!

As you may know, usually Elderflower cordial is silly expensive to buy in the shops. It comes in a posh 'organic' looking bottle and costs a fortune relative to other cordials, this even though the trees are everywhere and it's native to England. It's really very easy to make. I freeze lots of it in small plastic water bottles so I can enjoy this taste of Summer all year round.


This recipe makes 2 litres (3 1/2 pints) ... don't be shocked by the amount of sugar .... that's a lot of cordial which will be diluted probably 1 to 10.




What you'll need


1.8kg (4lb) Sugar
1.8 litres (3 Pints) very hot water
25 Elderflower sprays
1 tbsp citric acid (available from brewers shops and online)
3 limes
1 lemon

1. Put the sugar into a preserving (or big) pan and pour on the hot water, stirring till all the sugar has dissolved. Cool for 20 minutes.

2. Meantime, shake the flower heads over the sink to remove any dust or insects then swish them gently in a bowl of cool water. strain and shake until semi-dry.

Freshly picked flowers ..wow they smell amazing!

Snip off the stalks

3. Using small sharp scissors, carefully snip off all the main stalks as as many of the medium ones as you have time to do, leaving only the floral sprigs.

4. Push the flowers down into the warm sugar syrup and add the citric acid. Stir gently.

5. Pare one-third of the thin outer rind from the fruit and add to the pan, then slice the semi-peeled fruit and add that too.

Pare some of the Lemon and Lime rind

6. Stir everything together, cover tightly with cling film and keep it in a cool, dark place for 24 hours.

It looks like a trifle!

7. Strain through muslin into a clean pan and bottle!

Strain the liquid out

This cordial needs to be drunk quite quickly as it will ferment if left too long, so remember to freeze a load of it ...taking care not to fill the bottle completely as the liquid will expand when frozen.

I made this the other day and look how many bottles I got! Easily enough to last the whole summer.

Some for drinking now, some for freezing and some for giving as a pressie!

* Drink with Sparkling water as well as still

* Add peeled, thickly grated root ginger (2 1/2 inch) at the same stage you dissolve the sugar to add a peppery note to the cordial.

* Combine with a chilled dry sparkling wine such as Cava for a super tasty aperitif.

*Do as the Hubster did the other night and add to a Vodka Martini for a delicious twist or make Elderflower cocktails with cthe cordial and gin or vodka, plus a splash of lemon or lime juice and a sprig of lightly  bruised mint.

* You could make ice cubes to drop into drinks or use the diluted cordial to make lovely refreshing ice lollies for the freezer.

Get your posh glasses out and quaff with delight!

Now off you go, while the weather is so beautiful and have a go. It's really really easy and so tasty, much nicer than the shop bought cordial.

I'll be back soon with more Home made goodies!

Bye for now

Leona X

Let's talk about the Birds and the Bees!

It's a Wildlife Special!

Hiya Folks

I hope I find you well and happy ... if a little soggy...... I've not had a lot of time to spend on the blog in the last few weeks as I've been a very busy little bee! I've celebrated my Wedding Anniversary and had a plethora of house guests here at Casa Wollaston, so I'm sorry it's all been a bit quiet on the Bloggy front.

But here I am, in my fifth month of not buying any clothes, I have to say, it's been very hard going as the stuff in the shops is all my kind of style, 50's dresses, 60's shifts, 70's maxi dresses ..it seems like the high street has got the best of the last 5 decades all sewn up..... but... I'm being strong and secretly praising the heavens for all this rain. (I don't have to go out and see all the pretty new collections when it's a damp squib do I?)

So, I'm looking for ways to distract myself at the moment to keep my mind away from shopping expeditions, and one of my favourite ways of forgetting about retail temptation is to get out in the fresh air .. not easy at the moment with all this rain!

Rainy little flowers!

The garden and allotment are crying out for some much needed attention and I absolutely LOVE spending time outdoors but it's been rather cold and as we all know very wet so the planting will have to wait a little while. It's hard to believe that just a few weeks ago, I was under the Damson tree watching all the little bees busily doing their thing. I do hope they'll be ok and able to survive the cold, damp weather.

With this in mind, I wanted to share a little bit of my passion for Wildlife with you and maybe give you some ideas on how to help to protect and attract some cute and beneficial creatures into your garden! Starting with my favourite ... the lovely little Bee!

So, why are bees important? We all know that they spend their days collecting pollen from one plant to another, but why should we be bothered about this? Have a look at this link.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/banrock-station/importance-of-bees

We haven't seen as many bees this Spring and it's hardly surprising with the terrible weather... these little wonders of nature rely on all the early blossom and spring flowers to build up their stock of pollen and many of the flowers which would normally be up at this time of year are just not there. There's a lot you can do to help, planting the right kind of flowers in your garden can make all the difference, those plants we think of as 'weeds' and ruthlessly dig up out of our flower beds and lawns are quite often the very plants the bees love the most. Plants such as dandelions which we treat as the enemy, they are there for a reason. They are also often very useful in homeopathic remedies and treatments too but that's for another day! Wildflowers are especially good, as bees and wildflowers have evolved together. You can buy Widlflower mixes in most of the cheap pound shops now and all you need to do is scatter them in your flower bed and wait for the magic to happen! Look at the show I got last year!

A carpet of colour!

The best flowers to plant are the single petal layer variety ( the ones that look like daisies basically)

We also leave some of our veg down at the plot to 'go to seed' as the flowers you get on Kale, Cabbage etc are much loved by the bees. They love yellows and blues and purples, little Violas are perfect and can be bought just about anywhere. 

Cute Violas!

They love the flowers off Strawberries, Raspberries, and Lavender too. These are all beautiful plants, with the added benefits of being edible and very useful to us. Why not plant something that is not just pretty to look at but will benefit wildlife too?

Lavender 

Wild Rocket

Down at the allotment, we've decided to go one step further and actually get some of our very own bees! Now I know you're probably picturing The Hubster and I prancing around frantically while being chased by swarms of angry insects ( you know you were) but no, we've got ourselves a teeny little number of 'Red Mason' bees, they are solitary bees and very chilled out. They don't produce honey but they are fantastic pollinators. They've already been busy at work on the fruit garden and as long as we get some sunshine at some point, we're expecting a bumper crop of gooseberries, raspberries,currants etc this year. There are loads of websites around now encouraging people to keep bees, or at least to support the dwindling population, here are some links.



http://www.birdfood.co.uk/

http://www.hedging.co.uk/acatalog/Mason_Bee_FAQ.html


http://www.masonbeesforsale.com/

Bee and Ladybird 'House'

Together with our little bees which came in cocoons, we got a box for them to store their pollen in, they will fill it up, lay their eggs in the cocoon and pack it full of dirt to protect the next generation. Then we'll store the tubes away somewhere sheltered for the winter. Next Spring, we'll bring the box out and with a bit of luck from Mother Nature, they'll hatch and we'll have a load more!

I'm actually quite cute when you get to know me

Mason Bee House

So, why not have a look in your garden and see whether or not you've got any of the kinds of flowers that support our little friends? They are absolutely vital to our ecological system and food chain. we could all do a little bit to help.

Right, I'm gonna buzz off now (he he) I hope you enjoyed this post and didn't find it too 'preachy' I just wanted to share my passion with you and show you what all this not buying clothes can lead to ....you actually find the time to think about other stuff, and sometimes just a little can mean such a lot.

I'll be back with some more soon.

Lots of Love!

Leona X

Make your own Drinks too!

Oh Yes.... you heard it right!

Hiya folks! I hope you're all keeping well? It's been all go here at Casa Wollaston, juggling lots of different projects at the moment... I gotta say though I absolutely LOVE being busy busy busy... 

It keeps me way from the shops!

So, while I'm developing some more ideas and getting some stuff customised, I thought rather than leave it for ages, I'd do a little piece about some other things I love to make...... starting off with some delicious home made drinks!

I did a lot of different home made liqueurs last year, using some stuff I grew on the allotment and some shop bought stuff, and I intend to have a go again this year. I thought you might like to give it a go!

I tell you what started me thinking about it..... the Damson tree at the bottom of our garden exploded into blossom and I started to get really excited at the prospect of all those beautiful Damsons we can expect later in the summer.

Beautiful Spring Blossom!

Now I've seen all the little bees busily pollenating the blossom and I gave the tree a much needed prune last year, cutting away all the dead branches and letting some much needed light through, so I'm expecting a bumper crop this year! Soft fruit such as Damsons, Plums, Raspberries, Black currants etc make absolutely delicious home made drinks. Blackberries can be picked wild in August so you don't even need to spend any money on it and by Christmas, you could have a drinks cabinet bursting with home made goodies! (If you can stay away from them that long!)

Raspberries on the allotment

Just a few of the Damsons from last year's crop

So...where to start? The first one I had a go at was Limoncello... a firm favourite in our house for that after dinner digestive when you're having a special meal. It's extremely easy and the good thing about it is you don't have to wait for all the fruit to come into season as Lemons are available all year round!

What you'll need:

5 Ripe Lemons (Good quality for a better taste if you can)

1 Litre (1 3/4 Pints) Vodka (try and get over 40% volume as then you can keep it in the freezer)

750g ( 1lb 10oz) Sugar

700ml ( 1 1/4 Pints) Boiling Water

Stage 1:

1. Pare the rind carefully, avoiding the pith. Divide the rind between 2, 1 litre kilner jars

2. Pour the vodka over the lemon rind in the two jars, seal and give them a turn to mix.

3. Leave for 1 week, shaking the jars from time to time.

Stage 1: Lemon rind soaking in jar 

Stage 2:

4. After a week, place the sugar in a large heatproof bowl and pour the boiling water over it, stir well to dissolve.

5. While the sugar syrup is still hot, add the vodka and lemon rind mix to it. Stir, cover with cling film and leave for 1 week.

Stage 3: 

Strain and divide between clean bottles/ jars. Add a few strips of rind from a new lemon to decorate. Seal and keep forever! (Or as long as you can keep your hands off it!)

Make great Christmas Pressies!

Wild Damson Gin Recipe:

• 1lb/454gm of washed wild damsons (or shop bought is fine!)
• 6 ozs/168gm of white granulated sugar
• 75cl bottle of medium quality gin
• Sterilised 1 litre (at least) Le Parfait jar or wide necked bottle with stopper/cork

Method:

Wash damsons well and discard any bad or bruised fruit. Prick fruit several times with a fork and place damsons in either a large Kilner/Le Parfait jar or a wide necked 1 litre bottle.

• Using a funnel, add the sugar and top up with gin to the rim.
• Shake every day until the sugar is dissolved and then store in a cool, dark place until you can resist it no longer (leave for at least three months, we usually let it mature for at least 6 months). If you are planning to drink this after 3 months, have a nip after a month, and top up with sugar to taste.
• Some people strain the grog (through muslin/jelly bag) after 3 months and bottle it, leaving it mature for six months. Don’t leave the straining process any longer than a year; leaving the fruit in too long can spoil the liqueur. If you manage to make more than one bottle, tuck one away for a year and watch the flavour mature. This is a simply gorgeous drink .. a real winner at any Christmas party!

 Once you have strained your fruit and bottled your drinks, don't be tempted to discard the soaked fruit... I bottled my Gin around Christmas time and the juicy Damsons were chopped up, put into a pan with a little sugar and stewed. As I'm not a massive fan of mince pies, I used the stewed fruit to make some little alternatives, just using a ready made shortcrust pastry and a dollop of the fruit mixture. Served with home made custard and a shot glass of the Damson Gin ...Oh boy ...delicious is not the word!

A shot of pure heaven!

You can freestyle too here, I used the glut of raspberries from the allotment and added them to both Vodka and Gin using the same technique, I bought own brand varieties - no need to spend a fortune as the fruit will add a touch of class for you. We ended up with all kinds of different flavours and I gotta say, that's me hooked now. I'm going to make a lot more this year after this successful start and I'll be experimenting with some new recipes too. There are loads of websites out there where you can buy beautiful presentation bottles, these drinks make beautiful Christmas gifts. I guarantee, you'll be more than a welcome houseguest too if you get a reputation for turning up armed with a bottle of home made loveliness for your hosts!

I hope you like my post and I would love to hear from you if you have a go at making your own drinks, these kinds of liqueurs cost a packet in the shops to buy but theres no need to go spending loads of money on them when you could make your own! It's all part of the whole Make it yourself vibe. I gave some away as Christmas Pressies and they really went down a treat.

I'll be back very soon with more home-made loveliness.

Bye for now!

Leona X

..........hic!

P.S.

http://www.lakeland.co.uk/Homepage.action

http://www.jamjarshop.com


for Jars and bottles

Have You Ever Had It Blue

Hiya folks!

Finally, I'm back! I hadn't planned on being away from you for so long, apologies for the hiatus..... There's been a lot going on here at Casa Wollaston - more on that later - it's hard to believe this is the first chance I've had to get back to my "Make Do & Mend" project.

You'll be happy to hear that, true to my pledge, I haven't bought a single new item to wear so far this year! Now, as it's already April, that means I'm already a quarter of the way through my quest. It hasn't been easy though. I mean, have you seen the collections and trends for Spring/summer 2012? They might as well have looked into my brain and seen every bit of gorgeousness I'd love to have, waited till I wasn't buying anything and then gone "HA HA! ...right lets roll this lot out now then!"....... Hhhhrrrrumph!
It's enough to drive you to the cake shop!
Speaking of cakes ..........

A bit of sweet inspiration!

One of the trends that I picked out as a 'must have' (or more like a 'must do') was the pretty pastel trend and at last I've got something to show you! I really wanted a 50's style, cupcake coloured prom dress and it took me a while but by jove I think I've cracked it.....

I wanted something that looks a bit like this.....

A vision in Blue!

Betty Draper eat your heart out!

So, where to start then? Let me show you what I did.....

I trawled through my summer wardrobe and pulled out a likely candidate or two for an imaginative makeover. First I found this Broderie Anglaise dress I picked up for £5.00 in a charity shop about 4 years ago, it's cotton, a nice fit and hardly ever gets worn. (I don't know about you but I find a white dress a tough one to wear unless I've got a bit of a tan...which I never have since I'm always looking after the old hide!)

Cute but a bit plain...

I also found a little white cotton card that had been languishing in the knitwear drawer for a couple of years, not quite worn out but somewhat past it's best.

Slightly underwhelming!

Firstly, some much needed colour....I don't know if you're familiar with 'Dylon' fabric dyes or not but I've been using these little packets of magic for many many years now to revamp and revitalise tired looking but still wearable clothes. I've done dresses for myself and even some of the Hubster's white shirts which have lost their gleam. You'd be amazed with the kind of results that you can achieve for the princely sum of £2.99 and an hour of your time! There are machine dyes available too, but the last time I used one of these, it stained the rubber inside my washer so I just stick to the hand ones now..... and we all know anyway.... anything you put a bit of love into always works out better in the end!

So here's the one I've picked for this project.

oooooh.... Bahama Blue!

As well as a packet of Dye ...you'll also need these.....

Weighing Scales, Fabric Dye & Plain old Salt!

Following the instructions on the packet, weigh the fabric (dry) and use the appropriate amount of salt. These packs do 250g weight of fabric but don't worry if yours weighs bit more, It just means you'll get a slightly lighter shade. Half of the fun of home-dying is never quite knowing what shade your project will turn out! These dyes only work on natural fabrics such as cotton and linen and wool so do check the contents label on your clothes before dying, it won't take on Nylon/Polyester etc.....Do wear rubber gloves, and don't wear a pair with a hole in the finger like I did last time ...unless you want to walk around like E.T phone home for a week.

Stand over it and keep it moving for an even colour

When it's done, just let it drip dry somewhere away for direct sunlight and then if you like it as it is, great. If not you can repeat the process for a stronger colour.

Cardi I dyed just once

Dress I decided to do twice to get a stronger colour

So, they look quite nice now don't they? The colour on the dress wasn't as strong as I wanted because the combined weight of the cardi & dress was more than the 250g on the packet, so I decided to over-dye it and get a much stronger colour. 

I could have left it at that as the colour looks lovely but I just thought they needed a little extra something to make them stand out a bit more and to make them look a bit more special. So it's back to my little box of trims & trinkets to see what I can find!

Some cute vintage blue trims

I thought one of these might be nice for the cardi, the light blue lace was the closest in colour so I plumped for that one.

Cute lace from the 60's

And as it's Spring ...gotta be daisies  for the dress!!

Now I've got some cute trims to add into the mix, I think these will put the finishing touches to the outfit. I started by very carefully pinning the lace around the collar of the cardi, creating little folds as I went along to give it that frilly 'ruffled' look. Then I stitched it down using very small stitches so you don't see the thread so much.

Pin down creating little folds as you go.

I was going to change the buttons on the cardi but as they stayed white when I used the dye, the contrast looked really lovely so I left them as they were. You of course could change the buttons too on your project if you want to.

Then I very delicately sewed the daisies around the neck of the dress, again using tiny stitches for a clean finish.

I sewed them all the way around the neck.

After a very good press and taking care to trim off any loose threads, my dress and cardi were ready! And WHAT a transformation!!!!

What was a tired looking plain white cardi is now a cute girly pastel cover up! 

A whole new garment!

So cute!

And what was a £5.00 nice but plain bargain dress from a charity shop has been transformed into just the kind of knockout 50's cupcake colour dress I have been coveting from every vintage site known to man!

I'm so pleased with the way this turned out, I think this is going to be one of my favourite dresses for the Summer.... I liked it so much I had to wear it straight away! I wore it out to our new Soul Night in Islington "Masters Of Soul" last Thursday as the sun was shining (more on that little distraction in a later blog!)

It looked absolutely stunning and drew lots of compliments.... all in all a great success.

Whaddya reckon?????

Ta Daaaaaa!

I've really enjoyed doing this project and I'll be back very soon with more customised stuff from my wardrobe. Watch out any boring old white stuff!!!

 I'm also going to be spending a lot of time down at the allotment too now it's Spring so expect some updates on that ... my Make Do and Mend skills cross over into the horticultural world very nicely ..... and the allotment is the perfect place for transforming what seems like junk into something wonderful.

Maybe this whole idea won't be quite so painful after all!

Lots of Love

Leona XX